


Vindicated

by TheFangedGoblin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Banishment, Bottom Loki, Loki Angst, Loki Has Issues, M/M, Mpreg, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-14 05:43:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 61,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2180169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFangedGoblin/pseuds/TheFangedGoblin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Loki is defeated during his terror on Earth, Odin punishes him by taking away his powers and banishing him to join the Avengers with Thor to watch over him. At the Avengers mansion, Loki is treated like an outcast by everyone but Tony Stark, who is actually intrigued by him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” - Pablo Neruda

Loki paced back and forth like an angry, trapped animal. He paced even though he knew how lucky he was to be out of the dungeon. He had been surprised when as soon as he landed on Asgard, Thor led him back to his old childhood room and locked the door behind him. Odin must have prepared the room beforehand because Loki’s magic had muted as soon as he stepped through the doorway.

Sneaky bastard. Months later, Loki was still fuming about the muzzle that Thor just happened to have with him on Earth. Of course, it was the All Father’s doing. Thor never planned that far ahead. 

It had been four months since ‘the incident’, as he heard others call it. His time on that despicable planet was a blur of hate filled thoughts of revenge, but now, back in the home he grew up in, he was beginning to see things more clearly. He wondered for the first time if the tortures he endured had indeed made him lose his mind.

Yes, he was still angry at Odin. He didn’t know if he could ever forgive the old man for such a significant secret. But Frigga… Frigga was his mother. She had always doted on Loki and encouraged his pursuit of magic when she realized he would never be the strong warrior his brother could be. Frigga had never favored Thor over him. 

And Thor…his relationship with his brother would always be a complicated one. 

Loki could hear Thor’s footsteps coming from down the hall and he scrambled to grab a book to appear like he was reading instead of pacing worriedly. Today was the day his fate would be decided and he knew his brother would come with news of what the All Father had decided about his punishment.

***

Thor sighed as he made his way to Loki's furnished prison. It wasn't much of one, but at least it was something that could contain him. His father’s magic radiated off of the walls. Where would he run to, after all? Where would he go? Loki was trapped even without walls to protect him.

Thor opened the door and closed it behind him quickly, ensuring that Loki could not slip past him. For a moment, he just stared at his brother with his nose in a book. He wasn't fooling anyone, especially the one who knew him better than any other.

"Brother," Thor announced, though his tone was oddly affectionate. 

Loki's fingers clenched tightly around the novel. "I am not your brother, Odin's son. Tell me what news you bring of my fate. Am I to be strapped to a rock for the rest of time or is there some other new torture the All Father has come up with?" he asked, not looking up from the pages. He had been having trouble looking Thor in the eyes lately.

Thor had to smile at that. "Must you always be so dramatic? I remember what they called you down on Earth... a drama queen, was it? And you are my brother, still, in a way. And you used to be much more than that. But you have betrayed me just because of a little lie you were never really meant to know."

Loki gripped the book tighter and its leather strained. What arrogant mortal had dared to say such a thing about him? "A little lie! Odin stole me away like one of his many conquering treasures. He stored me here hoping to use me as an alliance chip against the Frost Giants!" Loki flung the book at Thor's head. "And as for you and I... you betrayed me with your little human tramp!”

Thor dodged the book expertly and tried not to roll his eyes at Loki's childishness. "Loki, father loves you, just as he loves me. Even now, while you are acting like a child whose toy was taken away," he sighed, though he knew Loki wouldn't listen. He was also sure that Loki was just trying to distract him from delivering him his fate. And perhaps he was allowing it. Maybe he wouldn't tell Loki at all and maybe he wanted to try to talk his father out of what he had decided. "Listen, I don't want to fight."

"You, God of Thunder, Odin's first born and heir to the kingdom of Gods do not want to fight?" Loki laughed a little hysterically. "You always fight! It's what you do!"

"Not with you, Loki. And just because I am who I am does not mean all my business must be war. It took me a long time to realize that, and it may take you even longer," he told him. Slowly, he sat down beside him. "I wish I could help you, Loki. I wish I could relieve you of all this anger you feel. But you cling to it, and have turned your back on the one person left who is willing to help you."

Loki's jaw clenched at that so he would not say anything else harmful. Thor and Frigga were all he had left of his childhood and he knew if he wasn't careful he would lose their support and their support could be all that keeps him from Asgard's prison. "What of my fate then?" he asked in a softer tone.

Thor wondered if he would ever be able to trust him again. He wondered if he would ever have his baby brother back. "It's not so bad. You will not be in Asgard's dungeons, at least," he began, not really knowing how to finish. "I tried to talk father out of it. But he refuses. He says it is the best thing for you. For us," he sighed, not elaborating.

Loki frowned, wondering why Thor would be involved in his punishment. "Us? You had nothing to do with my actions, why are you being punished also?"

"Like you care what my fate is," Thor scuffed, though it was slightly out of character for him. Sometimes, Loki brings emotions out of him that he rarely felt with any others. And right now, he was bitter for many reasons. "You are being condemned to Earth, much like I was. Except... you will be sent down to the extraordinary humans that defeated you. You are to help them protect the Earth and I am meant to be your guardian. Tony, the one they call Iron Man, has had a mansion built where the so called 'Avengers' are stationed. You are to go there. I tried to talk father out of it, but he means for you to somehow redeem yourself. There, that is it. That is your fate."

Loki could not believe it. He would rather be tortured than this! His hands clenching in his lap were the only evidence of his anger. "He means to send me to Earth powerless and right into the hands of those who rather see me dead? I’d rather him just kill me now and get it over with!"

"You think I'm happy with this, either?" Thor barked, but controlled his anger. "You misunderstand humans, Loki, you always have. You misunderstand humanity. They are a forgiving people. Odin is being kind," he tried to convince.

"Odin is up to his scheming plans as always! Thor, surely you can see this! You can not let him do this! You are the future King of Asgard!" he said, trying to stroke his brother's ego.

"Oh please, Loki. You still don't understand the gravity of all you have done. That is why Odin is sending you there. Things have changed now," he tried to explain. "What you have done has affected everyone."

"This is just an excuse for you to be sent back to your little human whore!" Loki spat angrily.

Thor's shoulders slumped. It always came back to this, didn't it? Loki obviously could not let this go. And he would never understand. "She is not a whore, Loki. She did not whore herself out to other men and women like you!" he shouted. What he had with Loki in the past had been different. Jealousy had never been a part of it. At least, that was what Thor told himself, even when he found out that Loki had seduced and slept with his friends.

That shut Loki up for the moment. He was usually the one to say harsh truths. "Your father will send us to Earth then? With you as my master?" he said sarcastically ignoring Thor's earlier words. "Will I get my powers back? Or will I be a bound and gagged present for your little friends?"

"No, I will not be your master. I will be there to watch over you. To protect you from the humans before you redeem yourself... if you redeem yourself. And there is no possibility of you having your powers. None of us trust you with them. You must earn them back, to use father's words," Thor explained.

Loki rolled his eyes. Odin knew he would not be able to earn back his powers, but surely he would not take his natural shape shifting abilities away from him. After all, that's what kept him looking human. "Am I to meet them as a blue monster or will the Great All Father let me keep that power?" he asked hesitantly, not knowing what the answer might be and the thought of having to see himself again in that form terrified him. Even Thor had not seen his true form, and perhaps his so called brother would not be so apt to defend him if he had.

"I never knew you to be so self conscious," Thor challenged.

"Then you don't know me as well as you think," Loki said quietly. 

"You may keep your power to allow yourself to fit in," Thor sighed.

"When do we leave for Earth?"

"Tomorrow at dawn. The others will be expecting us," Thor told him, and when he paused, he suppressed the urge to reach out for him. He knew his touch would be rejected. And besides, Loki was going to have to redeem himself to him, too. He did not trust him, not after what he had done. "Will you try? To help these humans and their Earth? Or will you seek to destroy it again?" he tested hesitantly.

"How will my presence be able to help humans? Odin must have really lost his mind this time. How am I to help anyone without magic?" Loki said with a shake of his head. "Leave me, Thor.”

"You rely too much on your powers, Loki. You need to learn who you are without them," Thor repeated his father's words.

Loki knew he had other skills, but those involved lying and deceit, both of which he had no problem using. "Leave me brother, I'm tired," he ordered, purposely calling Thor 'brother' to get the other man out of his room faster.

Thor gave Loki a confused look. "You called me brother. What are you scheming?"

"I want you out of here so I can cut my hair," Loki felt his lips forming the words, but they had been expressed without his permission. "Odin added another spell to give you even more power over me…" he said knowingly.

"Cut your hair? Why would you do that?" Thor asked, amazed at how fast Odin's magic could work. It was going to be strange listening to Loki honestly. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the truth from him all the time. But it was Odin's orders, and they were set in stone. "He... cast some sort of truth spell on you. But it only works with me. Don't worry, I will not abuse it," Thor promised.

"I want the humans to see me differently and that will be the first step to gaining their trust," Loki said before he could stop himself. Damn Odin and his treacherous ways! "Of course you will abuse it. Especially when you realize this is never going to work."

"You really cannot lie to me?" Thor asked genuinely. He wondered why Loki was saying he wanted to 'earn back the human's trust'. He found it hard to believe, truth serum or not, that that was Loki's real plan. "Does it really bother you so much?"

"Of course it bothers me. Do not ask me anything else," Loki hissed.

Thor fell silent, staring at his brother despite the fact that he was avoiding him purposefully. He wanted to ask him so many questions, but he could not find the words. But he did know one way in which Loki could answer questions burning in his mind without actually asking him directly.

After a moment of silence, Thor’s palm reached out to cup his cheek, and before Loki with his fast reflexes could stop him, he drew his lips to his in a chaste kiss. Loki sighed and closed his eyes after the brief brush of familiar lips. "I thought we weren't going to do that anymore." he said softly, not opening his eyes.

Thor did not quite pull away. He looked for the truth impatiently in Loki's endless blue eyes and in his words. "I'm not the one that turned away," he whispered.

Loki let out a shaky breath and opened his eyes to look at his brother. "I never meant for you to get hurt. Things… got out of hand."

"No, I think you knew exactly what you were doing and what it would do to me. To us," Thor disagreed, though he knew that there must be some level of truth there due to his father's spell. However, he was going to need a lot of time to forgive and trust Loki again, if he ever could.

Loki shook his head. "I knew the Destroyer couldn't hurt you. I was just trying to distract you," he said, his eyes pleading for his brother to believe him. "You are Thor, God of Thunder. Even as a mortal you are powerful."

Thor got up from where he sat. "I'm going to leave you now. We will leave this place tomorrow," he announced, no longer looking Loki in the eyes. "I will obtain some human clothes for you when we arrive."

Loki should have let him go with that, but he needed to say one last thing. "Before all of this started, the night of your coronation, I told you never to doubt that I love you. But I made you doubt it and now it will never be the same, will it?"

Thor stopped before he reached the door, caught off guard by that question and surprised that Loki remembered that night that well. "I still hope that one day I will... be able to trust you again," he told him honestly.

Loki nodded and watched as his brother left. As soon as he was gone, he leaned forward to bury his head in his hands. It wasn't a long moment of grief before he heard the sound of the door opening again, and this time to a softer set of footsteps than his brother's. 

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

Frigga walked into Loki's furnished prison as if she was gliding. She approached Loki and delivered him a soft kiss on his forehead, cupping his cheeks in her palms like he was still a little boy. "What do you mean? I am obligated to check on my youngest son.”

If she had been Odin, Loki would have said some snide comment about not being their son. But this was Frigga, the woman who was Thor's stepmother but had always been Loki's mother. This was the woman who had put up with the snide gossip about him with her head held high. To Loki, it did not matter that Frigga had not gave birth to him because she had taken in a child and raised it as her own and had never showed the favoritism that Odin had.

"You must have heard the All Father's sentence then,” Loki grumbled. “He's sending me back into a den of my enemies without any means of protecting myself."

"My love, you will have protection. I made sure of it. I tried to reason with Odin, but it is not within my power. And you have committed some pretty serious and evil crimes, my child," Frigga spoke softly as she smoothed her son's hair out of his face. Though her tone was serious, her eyes were full of sorrow.

"You are the reason Odin is sending Thor with me," Loki realized. "I did what I thought I had to. I regret nothing."

"I know," she said sadly, studying Loki's face as if she were trying to determine what she did wrong. "But perhaps you will, in time. Thor will keep you safe. You two used to be so... close. He will also be there so that you do not fall into loneliness, my love.”

Loki looked away. His relationship with Thor had not exactly been a secret but they had stayed discrete despite the gossip. Incest was pretty common place in Asgard just because of the fact that there weren't many Asgardians left after the Wars. 

"Thor loves Jane. As soon as we are back on Earth, he will seek her out," Loki told her quietly.

"He thinks he loves her. She is something that he may never have, and that is why he wants her. You have also broken his heart, love," Frigga told him softly, continuing to brush a hand through her son's jet black hair.

"His heart is too big for something as insignificant as me to break it," Loki said as he began to lean into her touch and actually relax. "I am sorry for all the pain I caused you," he admitted.

"Shhh," Frigga soothed him, not telling him that it was alright, because Loki had destroyed so much. But her love for Loki was that of a mother and it was unconditional. "Is that really how you see yourself? Insignificant? You are a prince, Loki, and I raised you better than that."

"Why?" Loki finally asked the question that had been burning in his mind since Odin had told him the truth. "Why did you raise me at all? You were already raising one son that was not your own. Why take on another, a monster's changeling at that?"

"I suppose every woman at some point wants to raise children, and I love you both so much that those details don't matter. I love Thor, but I was never able to truly understand him as I understand you. I suppose a mother always has her favorites," she smiled. "And you are not a monster, Loki. You are a beautiful prince of Asgard and always will be. That is your identity that you seem to have lost."

"Being a Prince would mean that I am Odin's son and I am not his son! I am nothing more than a stolen trophy." 

"Stop it, Loki," Frigga told him sternly, her tone changing. Sometimes, it was the only way to speak to him. "It is an insult that you do not think of me as your mother, after raising you since you were a baby. You were never a stolen trophy!" she practically shouted.

That instantly silenced Loki’s aggression. "I didn't mean you mother... I know it wasn't like that for you. I'm sorry."

"Shhh," Frigga soothed again. "Just do this for me, then."

Loki sighed and knew he would do as his Mother asked. "I will go and play nice with the earthlings... and I will make sure Thor doesn't do anything stupid while we are there."

"Good. And you will respect your brother. He is doing this for you," she instructed, though she knew Thor had no choice. "And both of you need to come back to me in one piece."

"We will," Loki said hesitantly.

"Good," Frigga smiled sadly as she leaned in to kiss her son on the forehead as if she could not hold back. "Now you must get some sleep. Even the most powerful of gods need rest."

Loki watched her go, and his dreams that night were not as dark as they usually were. 

***

The next morning, he looked at himself in the mirror and wondered how long the others would still view him as a monster. He didn't put on any of his usual armor and was instead wearing a simple green tunic and dark leather pants. His hair was finely trimmed, making him look younger. Different.

The guards came for him just after breakfast and he stood back and let them shackle his wrists with manacles that Odin had obviously made especially for him. Like the very air around him, they were meant to suppress his magic. 

The guards led him to the now rebuilt bifrost bridge where Odin, Frigga and Thor were all waiting. Loki wanted to snarl at Odin, but Frigga's presence kept his anger at bay. He felt like a dog with his tail between his legs. "Lovely day for a little trip to Earth isn't it?" he said as pleasantly as he could manage. Thor ignored him. Frigga stepped forward while Odin turned his back to deliver one more kiss to his brow. 

"That's enough. Muzzle him," Loki heard Odin say, and he heard Thor sigh with hesitation. 

"Is that really necessary, father?" Thor asked, not looking at Loki.

"For traveling, yes. You may remove it once you arrive, of course. And keep it close to you. You may have to use it again."

Muzzled. Like a animal. The smell of his mother's hair still lingered from her close proximity and it was all he could do not to lash out. Instead he clenched his fists and bit his tongue to keep back any hateful comments.

Thor took the muzzle out of his pocket and stood in front of Loki, his body tense as if he expected a fight. When all Loki did was glare, he sighed again and fastened the muzzle over the other man’s mouth as gently as he could.

He turned back towards Odin who looked distraught. "We're ready," he announced, tightening his hold on Loki's leash.


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha knew what was happening the moment they got the call from SHIELD. 

A year ago, the misfit Avengers team helped save the world and then immediately went their separate ways. And separate they remained, at least until they received an invite from Tony Stark a few months later. The genius, billionaire, playboy had built the Avengers their own mansion and all it needed was the Avengers. 

So Natasha and Clint had packed their belongings and headed to Manhattan. She and Steve had remained agents of SHIELD even when Clint took time off after Loki's mind controlling. Bruce began working with Tony and seemed to be happy and calm. Tony had gone back to do whatever it was that Tony did in his labs. Living together in one building made everything seem as normal as normal could be for any of them. The world around them was calm. 

Natasha knew it couldn't last. Times of peace never do. In her gut, she knew trouble was brewing far away. A few days ago, she learned that Agent Fury had been in contact with Asgard. He claimed they were organizing a peace treaty, but when the spy looked into SHIELD's data base, she found a much different kind of plan… one that made her feel very uneasy.

And now, the Avengers were gathered again. When they all filed into the meeting room, Natasha was the only one who didn't look surprised to see Loki and his brother Thor. Agent Barton went for his bow as soon as he set his sights on the dark haired villain, but a hand on his shoulder calmed him enough for Fury to explain the situation. The soldier-out-of time listened quietly like a good little pawn and the doctor, who was really a bigger monster than Loki was, just stared at Loki like he was trying to figure out what he gained from this. Tony Stark, of course, was running late. 

Tony interrupted the meeting when he raced into the room and slid across the floor, everyone in the room stopping to stare at his dramatic and late entrance. "What did I miss?" he asked, looking around and seeing all the puzzle pieces come together, even the evil ones that didn't quite fit in the picture.

Loki sat quietly behind his brother Thor. They had arrived on Earth a few hours ago, long enough for Thor to explain the situation to the Avengers and to finally convince Agent Fury to finally agree with the idiotic plan. Loki knew Fury had his own reasons for agreeing and his motives would be shown soon.

Like Natasha, Tony looked unsurprised as he observed the demigods in the room and the tense humans staring one of them down. "Ah, yes. Our guests have arrived. Still chained. I still don't see how this is a good idea," he put in his two-cents and carefully watched Loki's expression.

"There are still enemies out there, and any help offered should not be turned away," Fury said the last part of his sentence to Tony.

"Maybe we should stick to individuals who are at least on the same team," Tony spoke out again. Loki looked out of place even with his new haircut and new human clothes. The boy couldn't look normal if he tried. It was odd to see him like this, shackled and silenced and powerless. Beaten down. It almost depressed Tony. 

"Apparently, this is part of Loki's punishment. In order to get back his full power, he has to help us," Natasha told Tony even though it was obvious that she didn't believe a word of it. 

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. She was interesting to him because she had actually managed to trick the Trickster. Loki would have to keep an eye on her. 

"It would be helpful to have Thor back," Captain America then said. "And Thor seems to have Loki under control..."

"Have we forgotten everything he has done!?" Barton suddenly yelled, his fist banging down hard on the table and grabbed everyone’s attention with his outburst. Loki didn't even flinch. "He broke into my mind and he killed one of our own. He killed Agent Coulson." 

At this proclamation, Loki just appeared confused and the good Dr. Banner, who had also been watching him closely, spoke up. "You killed an agent during your break out. He was a friend,” he said in a deceptively soft voice. Loki just shifted closer to Thor, used his shadow as protection, and ignored the doctor. He remembered how the Hulk had thrown him around like a rag doll.

Tony watched Loki recoil in his shyness and misery and saw only an embarrassed child underneath his protective, arrogant walls. He also knew that Agent Fury was giving no one a choice, no matter how much they sat around and argued. They may as well make the best of the circumstances. 

"I think we've all done things to hurt other people. We aren't exactly perfect ourselves. Let's give him a chance. Besides, he's as harmless as a kitten," Tony sneered over in Loki's direction, giving him a look that told him he still didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. But then he remembered that he could throw him pretty damn far.

"Thank you, Tony," Thor gave Tony a halfhearted smile.

Loki looked up from the floor to glare at the Iron Man because that was all he could do in his present circumstances. Tony wouldn't be so brave if Loki wasn't locked up and muzzled... or perhaps he would be. He remembered how the mortal had come to him with no armor.

"Even kittens have claws," the Black Widow pointed out. "We can't trust him anywhere near our planet, especially in our own home... unless you think JARVIS can keep an eye on him at all times."

Tony only shrugged, indicating that JARVIS could do just about anything. 

"Look," Thor began with a sigh, reclaiming all the attention of everyone in the room with just one word. "Loki has paid for his crimes. He was tortured by the Chitari.”

Loki's eyes jerked up to stare at his brother in shock and just a little bit of hurt and betrayal. He hadn’t told anyone of the events that transpired before coming to Earth, not even their mother who has the power of prophecy. 

The Avengers team looked doubtful except for the Black Widow. When no one said anything she leaned forward and pulled up the security footage from the night when Loki appeared. "I must have watched this over a thousand times when I found out Loki had Clint." she said fast forwarding until after the small battle where Loki killed everyone he didn't need. 

"Here." she said pausing as rewinding until it showed the clip of the usually graceful Loki, tripping, with one of the SHIELD agents helping him up. It was almost faster than a blink of an eye, but it was there. "I thought it strange that a person could take out a roomful of trained agents in a minute but still look like a Holocaust survivor." When she paused at a close of Loki's face, the shadows under his eyes were so dark they looked bruised and his skin was so pale and gaunt that he looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks. 

Thor couldn't help feeling bad that he put Loki on the spot, exposing him in front of the team. But they had to know. It was perhaps the only way for them to sympathize with him. "Just give him a chance. Besides, I will be here to make sure he behaves."

Loki rolled his eyes even though it was probably in his best interest not too. "Yeah, because you did such a bang up job last time," Barton pointed out. "I'm sorry if I need a little more proof than your word that you can control him... ungag him and lets see what he has to say for himself."

Thor nodded and turned to Loki, not looking him in the eyes as he removed the gag gingerly. "Don't say anything you will regret," he warned him in a whisper, which earned him a disdainful look.

Loki knew the precarious position he was in and he wasn't stupid enough to screw it up. "I don't regret what happened, but I do regret that your planet got in the middle of a galactic war. It was… never my intention for so many to perish," he said, sticking as close to the truth as he could.

"What he is saying is true,” Verified Thor. “He must say the truth to me. It is one of Odin's punishments."

Loki would have kicked Thor if he could have gotten away with it. "I'm sure your friends don't want to hear about the All Father's punishments," he said, trying not to sneer the word 'friends'.

"He still has his pride and I don't think any amount of torture could take that away," Tony observed and spoke up again before going over to the bar and pouring himself a drink. "But I say... what the hell? Let the drama queen stay. We have him under our thumb now. It could be fun," he smiled to the rest of the room.

“I’ll need a drink, too,” sighed Natasha with an impatient wave of her fingers. 

***

A few weeks after that, everyone was almost used to Loki being around. No one ever saw him by himself. If he made an appearance at all, it was alongside Thor as a silent shadow. When he was alone, he was shut tight inside the mansion's extensive library. The fact that the Avengers team still knew almost nothing about their psychopathic housemate left them uneasy. He was like a ghost, lingering in the air like a threat, yet not tangible or even really real at all.

It wasn't until one night when the avengers all had a bit too much too drink that they began to see a few little cracks in Loki’s protective shell.

Loki hadn’t planned on drinking, but he watched as his brother consumed more alcohol than even a god of thunder should and suddenly felt like he really had nothing to lose. Loki always liked to keep his wits about him, especially while in the lion’s den, but he wanted to forget… if only for one night.

Thor swung an arm aver Loki's chair. His brother always did get super affectionate when drunk. "Come, brother. Have another drink. They call this a beer," he slurred, his voice low enough for only Loki to hear. He felt Loki tense against him, but it did not make him back away. "I've learned that the best way to bond with foreigners is to fit in. Learn their customs, their manners. Learn how they have fun."

"I don't want a beer... don't you remember what happened the last time I got drunk?" Loki reminded him, keeping his voice soft. He was referring to the time he became intoxicated with Thor's friends and Fandral dared Loki to do a strip tease. He had ended up on his belly with Fandral thrusting inside of him… something Thor had never really forgiven him for.

Thor erupted drunkenly with laughter at the memory, though inside he burned with anger. Loki was born with a gift for manipulation. "Well, I'm safe from competition here. Maybe you should," he suggested against his ear.

Tony watched from a distance as he shot another glass of tequila down his throat. It burned pleasantly on its way down. He was currently trying to understand the two brother's seemingly intimate relationship, but he knew it was probably just far more complex for anyone other than themselves to fully understand it. Still, he was curious to try. 

"What makes you so sure you have no competition here?" Loki whispered. He felt eyes on him and looked up at Tony across the room. In the past few weeks, Loki found that he rather liked the Iron Man's eyes focused on him… like they were trying to dissect everything about him. He smirked at the mortal before turning back to his brother. "There is always competition for me." 

"Oh, so you're still going to play those games? After everything?" Thor asked, trying not to sound demanding. His arm was still possessive around Loki's smaller shoulders. "You really think you can seduce any of these humans into your bed? I think you have done far too much damage for that, brother," he told him cockily.

"I don't mean to play games," Loki said suddenly, the truth like vomit from his lips. It left a bitter taste in his mouth that he drowned with another shot of vodka. He was quiet for a moment as he watched the others converse around them. "Has there been too much damage to get back into your bed?" he asked suddenly as he stood up and took Thor's empty bottle to replace it.

Thor was clearly surprised by that. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, it won't be easy," Thor stood firm, though his poise lacked confidence and alcohol blurred his mind and judgment.

Tony continued to watch from behind his bar. The others were far too distracted to notice the odd interaction of the brother demi-gods on the other side of the room, but he continued to look at them with suspicious fascination. 

Loki’s fingers brushed Thor’s as he handed him another bottle of beer. "Nothing worth it ever is."

Thor seemed to consider that with a small smile. "Why now? Because my conscious is weak?" he asked.

"Yes," Loki said before he could stop himself. "It is easier to get you into bed when you are drunk."

"I thought it was the other way around," Thor mused, taking a deep swig of his beer. "Perhaps we should retire to bed early, then," he suggested quietly.

"Not yet," Loki said quietly feeling Stark's eyes on them. "We should perhaps retire separately." He knew the others already thought Thor was under some sort of spell. They didn't need any more ammunition against him.

Thor didn't want to retire separately. He wanted to throw Loki onto his back right now and have his way with him. "You are too paranoid. I'd say you have done well so far in this human world with your former enemies surrounding you. I am surprised.”

"I have stayed out of the way and kept my mouth shut. Of course I'm doing well. Just wait until something goes wrong... who do you think they will blame then?" Loki asked him.

Thor seemed to think on that a moment, his mind slower with the alcohol. "I will protect you and whatever honor you still have," he told him with his head held high, a slight teasing smile on his lips.

Loki rolled his eyes at his brother but his lips twitched into a smile. "The mighty Thor will protect me, then?"

"Always. You know that," Thor smirked arrogantly, though he knew the only thing Loki needed protection from was himself. Even without his powers of trickery and magic, he could still defend himself. But Thor liked thinking that he at least served some purpose in his life. "Come with me now," he tried again.

Loki wondered what power Thor really had over him, with or without their father’s curse. It was almost something instinctual that had him wanting to follow any order that came from Thor's mouth. Maybe part of him knew Thor will one day be his king, whether he wanted him to be or not. What ever it was, even now, when he was long past the childish need to be like his brother, he still felt the urge to obey him.

"After you, your highness," Loki said a little sarcastically. "Be sure and let your friends know you are retiring for the night."

Thor did not want to stop for distractions. It had been so long since he and Loki were this close that he could not wait another moment. "I don't think they will come looking for us," he smiled sneakily as he placed his palm on Loki’s back and practically shoved him out of the room.

When they finally reached the hallway that led to the bedrooms, Loki pushed Thor up against a wall. "You have to be more discreet," he chastised. 

Thor wouldn't have tolerated Loki's dominance if he were just slightly more sober. Instead, he just leaned against the wall and grinned. "I don't care if they know. We never used to care," he mumbled seductively, nuzzling his brother’s lips with his own.

Loki shut his eyes and leaned into Thor's body. "It's different here. Humans wouldn't understand," he said, suddenly pulling away. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."

Loki was learning more about these human’s technology, their own pathetic form of magic, and he was pretty sure Stark's A.I. kept track of everything that went on in this house. Loki felt like he was being watched every second of every day.

Thor grabbed Loki and switched their positions, shoving him against the wall and leaning his body against his. He held his panic down. He was terrified that Loki had just been leading him on. "Stop it. Don't do this to me," he practically begged.

Loki reached a hand up to cup Thor's face in his palm. "All right," he said, and leaned forward to kiss him gently.

Thor visibly relaxed. The look in Loki’s eyes then, the pity and the compassion and the love was enough to inflame him with lust all over again. He kissed him harder, tasting him deeply for the first time in too long. He was so drunk that he was willing just to take Loki here and now, not even realizing that they were still in the hallway.

Loki pulled away enough to lean his forehead against Thor's. "Your room,” he said, pushing him away from him.

Thor gave Loki a smirk and grabbed his arm to stumble over to his room. His room and Loki's room were right beside one another for the purpose of Thor being close at all times to keep him in line. Once he opened the door and shoved them both inside, he shut it and slammed Loki against it, kissing him hard again. "Did you miss this? Did you miss me?" he asked quietly, as if it was a secret. So much had happened between them that he didn't expect to ever touch him like this again. It was overwhelming. In his mind, he knew he shouldn't. Loki would just hurt him in the end. They were no longer children.

"Yes, everyday we were apart I missed you," Loki admitted. He ran his hand up Thor's shirt.

Thor shivered. He wanted so desperately to believe him. "Then prove it to me," he demanded, practically tearing Loki’s clothes off until he was shirtless against him and his hands slid down his abdomen to the waist of his trousers. "These human clothes make you look silly," he teased.

"You were the one that insisted we wear them," Loki pointed out a bit breathlessly. "It's been awhile for me," he added as his hands unfastened Thor's pants and pushed them down.

Thor exhaled, his cock throbbing painfully with impatience. He was surprised to hear it. He had expected Loki to always be promiscuous. "Was I your last?" he asked, though he almost didn't want to know. He kissed him hard when he realized he was afraid of the answer. Loki lost himself in the sensation and did not answer. He peeled off the rest of his own clothes and helped Thor with his before leading them both away from the door.

Thor practically stumbled into the bed that was still unmade from last night's rest. He was used to servants, and even his own mother, cleaning and making his bed. So here, in the Avenger's Mansion, they were left to be neglected. 

Thor lay back and spent a moment just worshipping Loki's body with his hungry eyes, mapping out his chest with his hands. Loki was tall and lean and beautiful, his blue eyes shining in the dim light of the room. Before he could get carried away, however, Thor grabbed Loki and roughly slammed him onto his back.

Loki moaned at the feeling of Thor's bulkier body move on top of him. He had always been jealous of Thor's muscles. Every man on Asgard was large, and although Loki was tall like the others, his own body remained lean. It always made him feel even more different. He ran his fingers down Thor's back. "I've missed this… us together like this,” he said again.

Thor smirked and allowed his heavy hands to travel down Loki's thighs, prying them apart until he was stretched around his hips. "Again, you're going to have to prove it to me. You betrayed me most of all, remember," he warned, his voice thick with lust, and then pressed two fingers against the other man's red mouth to be sucked. "Wet them," he demanded. Thor had never been one for foreplay, and Loki had never seemed to mind.

Loki rolled his eyes but obediently sucked on Thor's fingers as suggestively as he could. He pulled away to nip at the tip of Thor's index finger. "You will forgive me one day, you always do."

"You are what these humans call a brat," Thor told him, his voice slurred as he felt the warm suction on his fingers.

Loki pulled Thor back into a kiss, his hands tangling in his long, blonde hair tightly. Thor moaned into his mouth and his hand traveled between Loki’s legs to run his wet fingers along his entrance. "Mmmm. You're wet," he mused, finally forcing his fingers inside and pulling back to watch Loki take them.

"I told you..." Loki panted. "...it's been awhile."

Thor smirked, easily working him open as if his body were starved for it. A moment later, he grabbed Loki by the hips, threw him onto his stomach, and surged his cock into him roughly and cried out from the impossibly tight, warm wetness that encircled him.

Loki yelped. He braced himself against the headboard, knowing how enthusiastic Thor could be in bed. He hoped they didn't break this one. That would be hard to explain to the others.

Usually, Thor would take Loki roughly without consideration, but this time, he leaned over to whisper in his ear, "You alright?" He felt Loki's body tensing around him, but still accepting him like he was meant to be there.

It was strange. Having someone ask him that. Loki growled. "Yes, of course. Stop messing around and fuck me." 

Thor's laughter vibrated through their bodies and he grabbed Loki's hips to raise them off the bed. "You are beautiful," he whispered, not giving Loki a chance to respond snidely before he began to pound into him as hard as he could, spreading his legs open to penetrate him as deep as possible.

Loki groaned and leaned his head against the pillow and pushed back into Thor, meeting him thrust for thrust, unaware that they were indeed being watched. 

***

Thor and Loki had not been discrete, at least not to Tony. Though he was plenty intoxicated, the Iron Man had seen the two brothers interacting as if they were much more than that and even stumble out of the room locked on each other's arms as if they were about to do something that required privacy. 

So naturally, it all made Tony even more curious. It was important to know that Loki wasn't trying to trick them all by whatever he was about to do. It was important to know that he wasn't just trying to seduce Thor, who was supposed to be the only one who could control him. So Tony snuck off to his lab where he had his security cameras. Naturally, he had placed one in every room. 

Some may call him paranoid. He just called himself careful. 

Against the stern warning of JARVIS, Tony squinted his eyes as he turned on the monitor and looked closely at the image in front of him. When it came into plain view, he shot back and had to swallow his own exclamation. Thor had Loki on his stomach, fucking him like an animal.

"Harder!" Loki demanded, wanting it to hurt. "I want you to fuck me harder…"

Thor snarled, grabbed Loki's slim hips with one hand and his short, messy black hair with the other and pounded into Loki so hard he knew he would be bleeding. "Like this?" he growled, watching as Loki's body bounced back against him with each thrust.

"Yes!" Loki moaned, because he wanted to feel like he was being punished.

Thor continued to pound into Loki until he felt him tense under the pain, and despite every inch of his body and soul wanting to ignore it and continue taking him, he slowed down to a stop, though he did not pull out. "I'm hurting you," he panted heavily. "Turn around, let me see you.”

"No!" Loki shouted firmly as he gripped the sheets. "Keep going."

When it came to physical strength, Thor always had the upper hand on his younger brother, and ever since they reached puberty, he always liked to show it. But this time, Thor was gentle as he pulled out and forced Loki onto his back underneath him. "Calm down," he said softly, his hand stroking his face. "I'm not going to stop. I'm just not going to hurt you too much," he insisted, pushing back inside him slowly.

"Don't," Loki tried to sound threatening, not wanting it to be this intimate.

"Shhhh," Thor soothed, his lips against his as they breathed into each other's mouths, only moving slowly inside of him. "Take it easy.”

Loki jerked his head sharply to the side and away from Thor's lips. "If I wanted to take it easy I wouldn't have seduced you," he said sharply. "Stop messing around and fuck me already."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Thor told him sternly as he continued to rock into him gently. He knew something was on Loki's mind. He thought he deserved this. He thought he deserved punishment. "Look at me, Loki," he demanded.

Something broke in him them, whether it was Thor's gentle touches or the look in the other God's eyes, he didn't know, but he let out a sob without meaning to. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Thor stopped the instant Loki began to sob. Still inside of him, he leaned his chest on his and shook his head. "Shhh, love, shhh. It's alright, love," he whispered, cupping his face in his hands and running his thumb across his smooth cheek.

"It's not! Everything went so wrong and then I fell into that abyss and then The Other found me and they wanted Asgard but I had to talk them into Earth," he cried, rambling and not making much sense. "I just wanted to keep you safe after all I had done…"

"Hush, love," Thor pleaded, still stroking his face. "I know all these things. I know what happened to you. I should have been the one protecting you, I should never let any of it happen to you," he whispered regrettably.

Loki breathed deeply, trying to get control of himself. "That's not your job." 

"Yes it is. It always has been. I'm your big brother," Thor told him. "I've failed you."

"No, you haven't," Loki shook his head.

"Yes, I have," Thor told him again. "Stop crying, love.”

Tony was pacing back and forth in the lab, trying to process what he had just seen and ignoring the ‘I told you not to look’ lecture from JARVIS. He had never seen Loki like this before, ashamed and broken and... apologizing. 

"I broke your heart, I know I did," Loki said softly.

"You broke my heart a thousand times, Loki... my heart was already broken when you did this," Thor told him sadly, thinking of all the times he had caught his brother in his friend's beds. "But it's alright, I forgive you... we still have this," he whispered, nuzzling his face with his.

"We will always have this," Loki promised him 

"I've hurt you, too. So no more talk of apologies," Thor insisted, still stroking his face as he closed the inch of space between their lips with a solid kiss. Loki moaned and tasted his own tears on there lips. He wrapped his legs tighter around Thor's waist and encouraged the God of Thunder to keep going. 

Thor continued to kiss him deeply and braced himself to thrust roughly into Loki's body, holding his legs apart as he found that spot inside of him he knew well. "Gods, you feel so good," he panted.

Loki arched when Thor's impressive cock found that sweet spot inside of him. He couldn't even think straight enough to respond and his sharp tongue silenced to only whimpers and moans, and Thor wondered if a god himself could worship as he watched the pleasure consume Loki. Thor moaned loudly, his mouth open and eyes steady on Loki as he began to feel his own orgasm rise.

Loki knew he was going to come without Thor even laying a hand on his cock. His fingers gripped Thor's shoulders hard enough to have made a human bleed when he felt his orgasm overtake him. He was quiet when he came, centuries if sneaking around with Thor had taught him to be, and he lay panting afterwards as his internal muscles squeezed Thor's cock in a vice grip. 

Though Loki was silent, Thor cried out loudly and thrust into his tight body a few more time before he pulled out and took himself in hand. "You want me to come on you?" he panted, wanting to hear Loki's voice.

"I would rather you have came inside me… I would have kept your seed in me as long as I could," Loki whispered as he watched Thor get himself off. 

Thor's mouth dropped open as he spurted his come all over Loki's heaving chest before he collapsed on top of his mess with an exhausted grunt. "You know I can't do that," he said once he could speak.

Loki sighed sadly. "I will talk you into it one day... or trick you into it."

Thor’s eyes closed from drowsiness. "Why would you want to do that?" he asked, because he knew Loki wanted far more than just his come inside of him. He wanted his child and always had.

The spell Odin used forced him to speak and to be honest and Loki should have known better than to bring it up at all. "Because then you will be tied to me forever and no one would be able to say I don't belong any longer."

"No one but yourself ever claimed that you did not belong. And you will always be tied to me," Thor reminded him. "I know that you have lost so much, but it does not mean you have to do that." He knew that it must have hurt Loki to be torn away from his children, though he would never admit it.

Loki wrapped his arms tightly around Thor's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. It brought up to many bad memories and left the emptiness in his gut in agony. 

"Shhhh," Thor soothed him again. He ran his fingers through his messy, black hair. "I'm sorry, lover. I shouldn't have brought it up. One day... maybe you will convince me," he whispered the secret into his ear in hope that it would make Loki feel better.

Loki smiled against Thor's skin. "One day," he repeated the words like a long lost prayer.

***

Back in the lab, Tony demanded the computers to shut down, lock the surveillance away in a protected vault, and then ran off to take a very cold shower to wash away the metaphorical dirt on his skin that made his legs shake and his head to spin.


	3. Chapter 3

That same night, Bruce Banner found Tony in his lab staring at his computer screen intently. The Iron Man’s hair was still wet and uncombed from a shower and he wore a robe over his loose, flannel clothing. He reminded Bruce of a mad scientist on the brink of a new discovery, especially when he did not even sense his friend approaching. 

Bruce peeked over Tony’s shoulder to see what had caught the inventor’s usually short attention span and his eyes widened when he saw what was on the screen. "Are you spying?"

Tony nearly fell off his chair but caught himself before he could end up on the floor. He quickly reached out to turn off the monitor. "No! I have these cameras for a reason, so- so I can make sure no one's breaking in, or breaking out," he convinced, still drunk. When Bruce just gave him a look, Tony knew he wasn’t capable of being fooled. "And besides, it's a lot like trash TV., but... real.”

"You were spying... or perving on Thor and Loki," Bruce smirked knowingly.

Tony gave his friend a surprised look. "So you knew about them? How is it that I didn't?" he demanded. "And I wasn't perving, I had no idea what was going to happen until I saw crazy drunken animal sex that turned into a soap opera half way."

Bruce shrugged. "I always suspected there was something more to the story Thor told us. He was a little too desperate to get his brother back after Loki had tried to kill him... I don't think anyone but us and maybe Natasha has figured it out." 

"Well, the whole damn mansion will know soon by the way they were going at it. This is definitely the last thing I thought was going to happen after a night of drinking,” Tony sighed, but something else had stood out to him. “They were kind of weird about something… like it would have been the end of the world if he… didn’t pull out.”

Before Bruce could reply, both men heard a loud ding echo through the lab, and one of Tony's robotic inventions reached out to offer them a bowl of semi-burnt popcorn. "Finally! I should have had this minutes ago," Tony mumbled to himself as he grabbed a handful.

Bruce rolled his eyes. They had become close friends, but Bruce always knew parts of Tony would always remain a mystery. "Well, I doubt gods have to worry about STD's, so maybe some of the myths about Loki are true," he suggested. "If even half of them are true it would explain why he's so crazy. Sleeping with your own brother can't be healthy, either."

"What do you mean about the myths?" Tony asked, because Bruce obviously knew a lot more about it than he did. "And technically, he's not his real brother."

"I was told that Thor didn't know Loki was adopted until recently and they have obviously been doing it long before that," Bruce pointed out. "I don't remember much about the myths but I do remember Loki had several children and some of them he carried himself. They called him the 'Mother of Monsters' because many of his children were considered monstrous."

Tony stopped to consider that, though he did not question Bruce further. What kind of monster spawns of Loki were out there? How many were there? "Well… maybe it's best we didn't know details. But I seriously question Thor's ability to control him, now."

"I'd question anyone who thinks they can control him,” Bruce agreed wholeheartedly, making the bitterness he still harbored very clear. “Loki has a way of getting in your head. We have all lost our vigilance around him. He needs to be in a cell at SHIELD." 

Tony took another mouthful of popcorn. "You really think that? I think if he were planning on betraying us, I think he would have done it already. He wouldn't be having emotional breakdowns like I just saw him have," he argued, because no matter what he believed about the mysterious demi-god, he knew what he had just witnessed was real.

"I think he is biding his time, waiting on us to let our guard down. We never got the full story on what really happened with the Chitauri. We know he was tortured, but beyond that, who knows what really happened?" 

"I think there’s a lot more to the story, sure, but I also believe Loki is a lot more broken than we all believe he is," Tony said, knowing that Bruce may never understand his more optimistic point of view. He was one of the skeptical ones and always has been. "Come on, join me on the roof?" he proposed suddenly as he grabbed a bottle of scotch and the bowl of popcorn. He suddenly was in desperate need of some fresh air.

"I think I'll just go to bed. I want to get started on a new project tomorrow... Don't get too much more trashed," Bruce warned him. "The Hulk won't be there to catch you if you fall off the roof."

***

Loki couldn’t sleep. Not even the pleasant tingling aftermath of orgasm in his belly could lull him into rest. 

He quickly dressed and snuck out of Thor's room, leaving his sleeping brother alone in the large bed. Thor’s habit of passing out after sex was one of his less endearing qualities. Loki didn't know how Thor managed to keep so many women satisfied.

Loki had planned on going straight back to his room, but the moment he stepped into the hallway, he felt the cold night air calling him like a whisper and he followed its direction lazily. It might be nice to be along with the stars for a while. Perhaps it was what he needed.

He couldn't allow himself to break down like that again. He wouldn't allow it. 

The roof of the Avengers mansion was chilly, but the cold had never bothered him. The cold was refreshing and comforting and made him feel more like himself. As a child, he had been considered weak by the other children for his intolerance to heat. At least now he knew why. 

The top of the building was peaceful, even with the steady city noise hundreds of feet below him. Loki sat on the edge and closed his eyes, feeling the icy breeze blow through his t-shirt and feeling weighed down like a bird with clipped wings. 

***

"Sir, Loki is also on the roof," JARVIS notified Tony quietly when he was halfway to the rooftop door. Tony just thanked him and continued forward until he was facing Loki's back. The demi-god looked... worn down. He looked so, so young. 

"Wait, don't jump, you have a lot to live for," Tony muttered sarcastically, trying to ignore the fact that he had just watched gay, incestuous demi-god porn featuring him.

Loki's tensed visibly when he felt the mortal join him and disrupt his solitude. He opened his eyes, looked down, and raised an eyebrow. "That fall would not kill me, not even without my magic," he lied. He thought perhaps that the mortal was looking for a fight... he was probably still bitter after throwing him out that window before the battle. Loki smirked at the memory.

"Wouldn't kill me, either. So don't even try," Tony teased, taking a step forward when Loki finally turned to face him. "You look a little worse for wear. You trashed?" 

Such bright, innocent, blue eyes on such a corrupt creature.

"No, I am tired," Loki replied sharply. "But you are... 'trashed', that is." He had been able to pick up Earth's lingo faster than Thor had, but then again he always had a skill for language. "I'm not doing anything wrong so you can go back to tinkering with your machines or whatever it is you do down there in your basement.”

"I'm not claiming you are doing anything wrong. I'm not here to check in on you. My job isn't to babysit you, thank god," Tony smiled, holding out the bottle to Loki as an offering.

Loki eyed the bottle warily. The mortal didn't seem like the type to try and poison him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't. "Even if I was desperate enough to drink that..." he began to say automatically, but then stopped. Even if the strange mortal had come up with some sort of poison to kill a god (and if any mortal could do it, it would be Stark) would it really matter? His life was over as far as he was concerned and he would never get his magic back.

Loki snatched the bottle and gulped down the rest of the contents quickly, actually hoping that the clever man had come up something to end his life. When the bottle was empty and he felt no ill affects, he frowned at it in his hands.

Tony just watched. "That bottle was expensive.”

Loki sighed with disappointment and sat the bottle down beside him. "I hear you are rich, so what does it matter to you?" he growled, looking out over the city lights and hoping Tony would get the hint and go away.

Tony smirked at Loki's simple knowledge of humans. "It doesn't. Do you want another?" 

"No, I shouldn't," Loki refused, the liquor already relaxing his tongue. "It is not as strong as the drink we have on Asgard, but I am what you humans refer to as a 'light weight'."

Tony laughed out loud at that. "So is Thor," was all he said.

Loki watched the other man for a moment before asking suspiciously, "What is it that you are trying to accomplish here?"

"You mean right here, right now?" Tony asked. "I'm getting fresh air. Same as you are. It can get stuffy in that mansion."

"I mean you acting... non hostile," Loki said awkwardly, not able to think of the right word for how Tony Stark was acting.

Tony smiled. "I could ask the same of you. I'm not the one that tried to take over the world with no regard for the millions of humans that inhabit this planet.”

"You humans slaughter each other in droves. Being ruled by me would have put a stop to that," Loki assured him, though he did not give Tony a chance to retaliate before he added, "I am playing along for now because I made a promise and Earth holds no interest for me anymore."

"You weren't here to save us; you were here to take over. You wanted to be a king," Tony said what they both knew to be true. "But I guess it doesn't matter now, does it? This is your world now, in a way."

"I don't have a world," Loki said bitterly as a cold breeze swept through between them and caused the Iron Man to shiver despite the warm fuzz in his joints that the alcohol provided.

"Down here on Earth we call your kind emo," Tony teased, not expecting Loki to have any clue what he meant. "Usually it phases out of us when we hit out twenties."

Loki looked confused but did not comment on it, knowing it would just give Tony what he wanted. Stark seemed to like to hear himself talk almost as much as Loki did. "I'm going to bed," he announced suddenly as he moved away from the edge of the roof, still a little shaky from his time spent in the bedroom with his brother.

For some reason, Tony did not feel like this conversation, if it even was one, was over. He took a step backward, blocking Loki’s direct path, and remembered when Loki first arrived. He had watched him curiously walk around the mansion, studying the computers closely and peeping through windows into locked rooms. The boy liked technology. 

"You know, if you ever wanted to look at all my gadgets, I can show you around," Tony said, though he closed his eyes when he realized how wrong that sounded and sighed. "And that's not a euphemism."

Loki stopped and studied the other man closely, Stark was a hard man to figure out. He couldn't define what he was trying to do by playing nice. "Do you forget that I am the same being that through you out a window?" he asked bluntly.

Tony narrowed his eyes. Fine then, he won't be nice. "You really suck at this, even more than I do.”

Loki frowned. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter," Tony gave up, turning around to face the city lights and saying no more. Up above the other buildings, he felt like he was in his own wilderness in the clouds.

Loki wondered if he was wrong in assuming Tony was up to something. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke again. "I did not mean to offend... I am just not used to people offering me things without some kind of price," he admitted quietly.

"Well, I guess if we are supposed to trust you, you should also trust us," Tony shrugged. He really had to choose his words carefully when he spoke to Loki. His usual sarcastic jokes meant nothing to him.

Loki swallowed nervously. "In that case, I would very much like you to show me around your home," he offered as a peace gesture.

"Alright," Tony agreed after a brief moment of drunken confusion and shock that Loki actually wanted to. "Right now?" he asked awkwardly, not sure.

"Perhaps tomorrow. Powerful gods actually do need sleep, you know?" Loki said with a teasing smirk, hoping to lighten the awkwardness between them. "Besides, it's getting cold up here. You will catch your death."

Tony watched as Loki turned to walk back towards the door, saying nothing at first as the other man began to slip away.

"I've been tortured too, you know," he said suddenly to Loki's back, surprising both of them. Loki turned back around. "In a sweaty little shithole called Afghanistan. It's how I got this," he pulled down the collar of his shirt to show him his chest. "I know what it's like to be controlled against my will. Lucky for me, I was smarter than them. I know how much it can change a person. For me, it changed me for the better. Or at least, I like to think it did. I stopped allowing my weapons, my creations to kill innocent people. I changed, and so can you.”

Loki suddenly appeared right in front of Stark and stared with childlike fascination at the arc reactor in the other man’s chest. He reached to touch it, wanting to feel the only heart his magic couldn't penetrate.

Tony stumbled a bit, but caught himself. He hadn’t expected Loki to get this close or to touch him. "Cool, huh? It's a bitch to maintain, though."

"This keeps you alive?" Loki's brow wrinkled in confusion as he tapped it with his fingers. "Someone did this to you?"

"Well, yes. But they did it to save me. I had pieces of shrapnel lodged into my chest, and this prevents it from entering my heart," Tony explained.

Loki's hand automatically went to Tony's shoulder to steady him when the other man swayed again. "It will pierce your heart... and you built this contraption?"

"Well, this one, yes," Tony answered awkwardly. "I've built a lot of things.”

"I know. I've talked to the voice in the ceiling. He told me you built him," Loki said.

"You've met JARVIS. Maybe you would like some of my other creations. U, Butterfingers, and DUM-E," Tony said proudly with a grin.

Of course, Loki was curious as to what things the Iron Man kept in his laboratory, but he tried not to be too obvious about it. So he pulled his hand back and smiled. "Good night, Stark. Maybe tomorrow you can show me your little friends."

Tony fought back the urge to reach out for Loki again and keep him there. "Alright," he whispered reluctantly, right before he got dizzy, fell over, and entered a state of intoxicated exhaustion. 

Loki caught Tony before he hit the unforgiving ground, but after he had the heavy human in his arms, he didn't really know what to do with him. Thankfully, JARVIS stepped in, and Loki realized this was obviously not the first time the computer had to deal with Tony drinking too much. So he picked the mortal up bridal style and carried him down the stairs and through the hall that led to Tony’s bedroom. He prayed that he would not meet any of the others along the way. He wouldn't know how to explain this situation.

When Tony woke up, he began to laugh. "Are you carrying me? Let me down, I can walk by myself.”

"Obviously if you could walk I would not be carrying you," Loki said reasonably, not putting the other man down until they were in the bedroom and he could set him down near the bed. "You should not drink so much. Clearly you cannot handle it."

"I can handle it just fine," Tony insisted when finally his feet were firm on the ground. He held his tongue back from making a comment about how he held it a lot better than Thor had.

"You drink too much. I overheard the soldier talking about it."

"The soldier? He's great at talking shit, isn't he?" Tony snickered. "Thanks for.. carrying me to my bed. Please don't tell anyone. Let's keep it between me you and JARVIS.”

Loki smirked at the thought of blackmail. "Don't tell Thor I was on the roof and I won't say anything," he proposed.

"Deal," Tony snorted. "Wait, why?"

"He would assume I was up to nefarious purposes, of course," Loki lied. 

"Fine. I'm going to bed," Tony muttered as he tried to kick off his shoes and fell onto the floor again.

Loki rolled his eyes and helped the human up, not being very gentle this time as he shoved him onto his bed and pulled off his shoes himself. "You are a very troublesome human."

"So I've heard," Tony said, feeling embarrassed now that Loki was clearly annoyed. "I'm sorry.”

Loki paused when he heard the apology. "Whatever for? It's not the first time I've put a drunkard to bed and it will probably not be my last."

Tony snickered at that. "I'm sure it's not," was all he said before he closed his eyes and passed out a second time. Within seconds, he was snoring.

Loki sighed and covered the human with blankets and took a moment to admire him while he was sleeping. Stark was a very pretty man. Loki didn't notice before, but with Stark's dark eyes, long eyelashes, and stocky but toned body, he was very attractive for a mortal. Loki shook his head, trying to clear those insane thoughts from his mind before he left the room.

That night, instead of dreaming of darkness and pain, of frost and fear, Loki dreamt of soft lips and a loving embrace. He was surprised when he realized that in his dream, the eyes that looked into his were not blue, but a deep brown.


	4. Chapter 4

Thor woke up the next morning with a headache. The uncomfortable pounding against his skull was almost enough to make him feel… human. He grumbled miserably and reached out to the empty, cold space beside him. Loki had not spent the night with him. 

He knew that meant he had to check on him. He had to make sure last night wasn't a scheme to get him drunk and distract him so that he could make an escape. So reluctantly, Thor rolled out of bed, grabbed his clothes, put them on with some difficulty, and walked towards his brother’s room. 

Thor let himself inside without knocking and found Loki still in bed. He heaved a sigh of relief. "You didn't spend the night," he told his brother plainly, knowing he was awake.

Loki didn’t want to get up this morning. Instead, he woke early and just stared at the wall, thinking about his dream. When he knew faking sleep wasn’t an option, he rolled over to look at his brother. "No, of course not," he said. He sat up and made sure the bed sheet wrapped firmly around his nudity. "We should not do that again."

Thor tried to keep his expression stoic as he walked over to sit on the edge of the mattress, but he was not as skilled in the art of deceit as Loki was. "There is nothing wrong with what we do," he told him calmly.

"From what I have learned, most humans are monogamous. It's not like on Asgard where marriage is just a contract. Your human woman will not want you sleeping with others," Loki explained.

"Do you see me with my 'human woman'? I have not made contact with Jane. It is for the better," Thor corrected. "Don't act like any of it matters to you."

"Of course it matters to me. I watched you when you were with her. I know you cared for her. And if she makes you… happy, I will not be the one to keep you from her," Loki told him.

Thor shook his head. "She is human. She can never understand me. Not like you can, brother. Stop talking nonsense," he insisted, and if he could get away with childishly covering his own ears to avoid hearing Loki, he would have.

Loki grabbed Thor's hands and brought them into his own lap. "Thor, look at me," he coaxed his full attention. "I love you and you will always have me long after your human is dead and gone. I will still be here."

"I told you, I have not spoken to her. It is safer for her not to be here," Thor muttered stubbornly, but Loki's hand was warm and familiar in his. He looked away again.

"Since when do you worry so much? Who better to protect a human than the God of Thunder?" Loki reasoned gently.

"She just... doesn't belong here," Thor insisted, starting to get frustrated. He never really knew how to handle these emotions that seemed to rule him when he thought of Jane.

"Thor... brother," Loki whispered, knowing that would calm him down a bit. "I can show my love to you without us falling into bed together."

"I know this. How is that relevant?" Thor asked, suddenly too frustrated to think straight.

Loki sighed. "You are being irrational right now. We will talk about this when you are calmer. Leave me so I can get dressed," he demanded, sounding every bit like the spoiled prince that he was.

"And you can just move on, just like that? Is it because I won't give you a child?" Thor asked, not ready to go quietly and trying to strike Loki where he knew it would hurt.

That was too far. Loki grabbed the nearest lamp and through it a Thor's head in a sudden impulse of anger at his words. "Shut up and get out!" he yelled, not caring who else heard him. Thor dodged the lamp expertly and knew that he shouldn't open his big mouth again. He gave his brother a glare that said it all before he turned around and stormed out.

Loki sneered at the closed door. No one ever managed to anger him like his brother could. He got out of bed and got dressed in his traditional Migardian clothing, though none of it was armor. While Thor seemed to prefer jeans and t-shirts, Loki felt more comfortable in dark dress pants and white oxford shirts. It was just another way they were so different.

When he was completely dressed and headed for the door, he found it locked from the outside. He frowned and tried again, but he was interrupted by the voice in the ceiling. "Director Fury is in the mansion is calling for a meeting with the Avengers. I was asked to lock you in your room. I apologize for the inconvenience, sir," JARVIS informed him politely, and Loki wondered what they were up to now.

"You were asked to lock me in here, but were you asked to make sure I stay in here?" Loki asked, trying to find a loop hole.

"No, sir, I was not," JARVIS said, and Loki could swear he heard a smirk in the A.I.'s voice.

"Well, then," Loki smiled and began to pick the lock.

***

The Avengers were gathered in the living room per orders of Fury. There was another man with him that Natasha recognized as one of the doctors from SHIELD. She knew this wasn't about a mission.

Tony arrived to the meeting late as usual with a smoothie in his hand. All this technology and he never did find a cure for a hang over. Maybe he will work on that next. "You know, he's never going to stop acting like an animal in a cage if we all treat him like one," he announced as he entered the room, not needing to hear what they were saying to know who they were talking about. When they all looked at him, he just shrugged.

Fury rolled his good eye. "Loki is the reason I called this meeting and I don't know how this information might affect him, so he was asked to stay behind," he told the group, though they all knew no one had asked Loki anything. "This is Dr. Adams. He noticed an abnormality with Loki and thought we should know about it."

"What is this about?" Thor was suddenly defensive. He knew what Loki was responsible for, but he would never stop trying to protect his honor.

The doctor looked a little uncomfortable around the Earth's mightiest heroes but he spoke up anyway. "After the battle, we did a basic x-ray on Loki just to make sure nothing was broken after his fight with the Hulk. At the time, I was just making sure nothing was broken and nothing was. But later when I went back and studied them more closely I noticed something odd about them." 

"I thought what I was seeing was because they were aliens... I mean Asgardians. So I retrieved the x-rays of Thor from the hospital in New Mexico to compare and I saw." The doctor pulled up the images on the computer. "Thor has the bone development of a healthy 27 year old male, admittedly a very tall one, but it is very similar to human bones."

"Loki, however, has a much younger bone structure that more closely resembles a adolescent. Director Fury told me Loki was adopted so I assume whatever race he is ages slower than Asgardians do, which could explain his intense behavior shifts. By human terms… he is practically a teenager. His last MRI only further confirms his… immaturity."

Thor spoke up again, still moody from the argument with Loki. "And why does that matter? Why is it even any business of anyone?" he asked.

"I'm not at all surprised to hear that. Can we move on now?" Tony asked, bored with this meeting already. To him, this all seemed to be a waste of time.

"What we are essentially dealing with is a teenager with an unfathomable amount of power and an obvious mental instability and he is staying here on Earth with only your word that you can control him," Fury said pointing at Thor.

"I suppose I just don't understand," Thor interrupted. "Why does this suddenly change everything?"

It was the Black Widow that finally caught onto Thor's ignorance. "Thor, on Asgard you probably became a warrior around the time you were a teenager. But here on Earth it is different, you are not considered an adult until you are eighteen." she explained. “You can’t make any decisions for yourself.”

"I understand that. Loki is mentally a child. I still don't know why it changes everything," Thor mumbled.

"Children are not responsible for there actions like adults would be," Bruce said with a guilty look on his face as if he was remembering that he had caused Loki to need x-rays in the first place. 

"That is not the point!" Fury said raising his voice. "I don't want a volatile child here any longer. Odin said he could learn his lesson, that he could be rehabilitated. But he is a child." 

Sure, Tony thought, Loki was a child. He was a spoiled brat. But he was also older than any of them could even fathom. He yawned dramatically. "Thor has been great with Loki so far. He haven't even heard a word from him, come to think of it," Steve suddenly added to the conversation.

"Exactly. Loki is just biding his time, waiting for an opening. So far he has done nothing to challenge any of you, am I right?" Fury pointed out.

Thor opened his mouth as if to say something, but JARVIS interrupted. "I'm so sorry to interrupt sir," he began politely. "But it seems Loki has run off. I tried to talk him out of it, but I'm afraid he has ignored me."

***

How dare those mortal think of him as nothing but a child...

After picking the lock to his room, Loki had listened in on the secret meeting only to discover the humans and his brother were talking utter nonsense about him. He was no child, and he would not play by Thor's rules any longer. 

Leaving the mansion was surprisingly easy. He had learned to pick locks before he had any control over his magic and the human's locks were bound by nothing but flimsy metal. His heart fluttered like a caged animal, but to his surprise, that did not change once he was out in the streets of the very city he had tried to destroy not too long ago. He realized that he didn't really have a plan or access to his magic... or did he? The All Father had left him with just one trick in order to fit in better with the Migardians and hide his monstrous cold, blue form. It had always been an unquestionable necessity, a survival technique. And he would take advantage of it, now.

A human woman walked by Loki at that moment and gave him a once over glance. She smiled at him as he walked past and it gave Loki a brilliant idea.

***

"Oh no..." was all Thor muttered as he panicked. His father would have his head if he knew he allowed Loki to slip through his grasp this quickly and easily. "We need to find him! Does your computer know where he went?" he asked frantically.

"No, sir, he would not tell me. But he went out the front door," JARVIS responded. Tony threw his hands in the air and rolled his eyes at the lack of security in his security systems. 

"He shouldn't be too far. We will find him," Natasha told them, but Fury looked like he was about to explode.

Thor didn't want to admit that Loki could be halfway across the world by now. He hoped that he was only trying to get away, not to escape. He hoped this hadn't been his plan all along. This time, he would have a much harder time forgiving him. "Listen. I can find him. He doesn't know this world. He doesn't know where to go. And he will come back to me, I know it. Please, just... cut him some slack, as you humans say," Thor all but pleaded to Agent Fury, knowing that the man was not listening.

"There is a mad dog loose in New York City, people. You have twenty-four hours. If he is not back by then, SHIELD will get involved, and if we find him first he is our prisoner," Fury threatened, clearly only out of respect for Thor and his request to cut him slack.

"If he hurts anyone, it is my father who will decide what to do with him, not your people," Thor told him sternly, and wasting no more time, he beckoned the others to follow as he ran out of the mansion.

"Thor, do you have any idea of where he would go?" Natasha questioned as she and the others followed behind him closely.

"No. No idea. But he will either be where we least expect him to be or he will be hiding in plain sight," Thor told them regrettably. "Where he is depends on what he plans to do. And I have no idea what that is."

***

Loki really had no immediate plans when he left. He changed his form easily to lessen the risk of being spotted. This form was easy for him to shift into, and being a woman on Earth had its advantages.

But Thor was wrong when he said Loki had nowhere to go. Loki made 'friends' very easily and he was always able to adapt very quickly. So why was he already bored out of his mind and wanting to find Thor just to have a fight to entertain himself? Without his powers, he felt like an insect among insects. What excruciatingly boring lives are lived on this planet. No one recognized him, so he faded into the sea of mortals. The traffic in the street and the bright lights made him uncomfortable. Suddenly, he realized he needed to escape from his escape. 

So when he saw Tony Stark walking into a bar, Loki smiled and followed him in.

***

Tony was sick of searching for Loki. The man was a cat in the dark and he could be anywhere. He wished that they had thought to microchip him. He vowed to insist on it when they found him… if they found him. He was also going to threaten to reprogram JARVIS when he returned to the mansion. Why had he let him go? 

He normally didn't drink in bars. They were filthy, disgusting places, with filthy, disgusting people. His mansion was better. His whiskey was better. He had spoiled himself, after all, with having everything at his fingertips. But tonight, he wasn't feeling like the king of the world. He almost felt like a failure. He had put together this team of extraordinary people, only to watch it fall apart. He had wanted to prove to Fury that he was stable enough to be a member of the team, but obviously he had failed in that, too. He heard his own father’s voice and decided to try to drown it out with alcohol. 

He had given up. Who knew what Loki was really up to? There was no smoke, no fire, no screaming or shouting. Even the police sirens were quiet. And yet he still felt like at any moment, the world could end, and he was just too far away from his suit. Feeling utterly human and utterly defeated, Tony sat down at the bar and ordered his first drink.

In this bar, Tony was a stranger amongst strangers. It was a relief, actually, although he had to admit that most of the time he loved that the entire world's eyes were on him. He loved the celebrity lifestyle. But right now, he wanted to escape just as much as he was sure Loki had.

***

The paparazzi that usually stalked Stark did not come into the bar, Loki noticed, but that was no matter. They would have their incriminating photos soon enough. After all, every one knew Stark was in a relationship with Pepper Potts and Loki was going to destroy that... just because he could.

Loki slid into the seat beside Stark in his female form. Tonight he was in a skimpy, green cocktail dress because he had been on his way to a casino when he spotted Stark. "May I buy you a drink?" he purred into the other man's ear.

Tony was startled when he turned to see the only woman in the bar speaking to him. She was beautiful, with haunting green eyes and a short dress. It actually startled him. She was too pretty to be a whore, and Tony realized he had nothing to lose. "Sure, why not?" he answered with amusement. "Do you know who I am?" he asked her a moment later.

"Everyone knows who you are, Anthony Stark," Loki said with a smirk. "But don't worry. I'm not after your fame."

Tony chuckled warmly into his whiskey. "Oh?" he gave the woman a sly smile. This might not be an awful night, after all. "What are you after, then?"

"From what I hear..." Loki said, reaching out to slide a hand down Tony's chest. "You are magnificent in the bedroom. I suppose I want to see if that is true."

Tony seemed to consider this for a moment, though in his mind, it was already decided that he was going to ravish this girl tonight. "This place is a dump. How would you like to come with me and have some real liquor?" he suggested.

"Lead the way." Loki said stepping away from the bar to slide his arm around Tony's waist.

Tony was buzzed, but not too drunk not to know what he was doing. Maybe it was good for him. Maybe it was good to go out to a trashy bar, find a beautiful girl, and fuck her. So he allowed himself to wrap his own arm around her slim waist and walk out of the bar, tipping the bartender far more than he made in a week. 

The paparazzi had scattered by the time they walked onto the street. Tony only made it only a few feet out onto the street before he grabbed the girl and shoved her against the wall of a nearby alley and planted his lips hard on hers.

Loki's surprise was the only reason Tony was able to maneuver him so easily. Usually, he was the one to make the first move with a lover… except with Thor, and he really didn't want to think about his brother right now. He soon relaxed into the kiss, feeling Tony’s tongue against his, before the flash of a camera had him pushing Stark away.

Tony stepped out into the light. "Oh, for fuck's sake! Don't you people have anything better to do? I hear Britney Spears shaved her head!" he called out to them in anger before turning back to the girl. "Come on, we can still go..." he tried as he grabbed her hand.

A loud crash of violent thunder caused them all to jump and for the paparazzi to fall to distraction. Loki jerked his hand away from Tony’s and tried to back into the shadows with startled fear in his eyes. Tony should know by now what follows such a random clap of thunder, but he was still surprised to see Thor soar down from the sky, grab the girl, and fly off. 

And as if that wasn't strange enough, Tony watched the wide-eyed fear in the girl's expression and it looked alarmingly familiar. 

***

Loki fought to get out of Thor's arms, not caring that the other god might drop him. They landed on top of the Avengers mansion a few minutes later with a thud, and still in his female form, Loki promptly punched Thor across the jaw hoping it would cause him to let go.

Thor allowed the strike, but knew that Loki was not applying all of his strength. It did not prevent him from roughly pinning him against the wall as if at any moment he would be gone again. "You punch like a woman. And what were you thinking, brother?! Running away like that! I swear, it must be the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do! And what were you doing with Tony Stark!?" he demanded all at once, thunder roaring over their heads.

Loki looked up to the clouds, judging Thor's anger by how the strong the storm was. "It is none of your concern. It is my business," he snarled, and his knee collided with Thor’s groin. He didn't have to play fair, especially when he was in heels.

Thor winced and punched Loki hard in the mouth in retaliation. "Stop it! I am not above fighting you in this female form. It is my business because I am responsible for you! I could tell father, and how do you think he would handle it?!" his tone was threatening.

Loki spit blood onto Thor's face to show him just what he thought about that.

It hurt. Not physically, of course, but Thor felt a pang in his heart that sank in his chest. He tried a different tactic, one that may actually work. His anger melted away and he gave his brother a sincere look. "Loki, don't do this. Please. I don't want to hurt you. I want for you to be happy... but you don't speak to me!" he pleaded, his grip still too strong to break.

Loki growled and struggle in Thor's hold despite the futility of it. "If I wanted to speak to you I would, you over grown oaf! Now let me go! I don't have to stay here with you!"

Thor gave him a hurt expression. "What have I ever done, Loki? Other than protect and love you... what have I ever done to deserve your betrayal?"

"I'm tired of always being in your shadow! I have a right to make my way in this world without you or those that see me as some sort of petulant child! I heard you in there discussing me," Loki seethed. Sometimes he really didn't know where all his anger came from. Or perhaps he did. Maybe some part of him remembered what it was like to be left for dead just a few hours after being born.

"So perhaps you have heard me also defending you. I know it isn't true. I only want to see you thrive and I want to see you happy. That is why I am doing this, please believe me," he shoved him harder against the wall as if to shove the truth into him.

Loki was about to say something offensive when Natasha and Clint rushed onto the roof. He gave Thor a mischievous look before he started screaming, "Please, help me! Please!"  
"Thor, what's going on?" Natasha asked, reaching for her gun.

Thor rolled his eyes, not letting go despite Loki's girlish cries of fear. "Oh, please, he is just trying to fool you. He has shifted forms so humans cannot see through his disguise," he told them, though he didn't know what to do if they didn't believe him.

Clint raised an arrow and pointed it at Loki as if already sure of Thor's story. "You said he couldn't use magic here so how is he doing this?" he asked.

"You'll have to ask him that. Just help me get him inside. Come, brother," the thunder god demanded as he tugged him into the mansion.

"I'm not going in there!" Loki yelled, trying to punch Thor again. "Go find your little human whore and stop man handling me!"

Thor said nothing as he forced Loki inside and into his room. He ignored the others who followed and shut them out of the room. "Loki. This isn't you. Please, talk to me. We both knew this wasn't going to be easy... living with these humans. But you have been doing so well so far. I thought... we were doing so well," he sighed, releasing Loki and knowing there was no room for him to run now. At least not without going through Thor first.

Loki snarled but he did not feel that his rage was articulate enough in this form, so he changed back, ripping the dress off of himself, kicking off the heels, and grabbing a sheet from his bed to hide his nakedness. "I don't want this, this redemption. I would rather be punished than have to try and play nice with these humans that only want to see me dead!"

Thor felt the frustration rise up in him again when it was clear Loki did not understand. He opened the door, reached out his hand, and felt the muzzle suddenly fly into his palm, all while not taking his eyes off of Loki. "I don't want to do this. I sincerely don't. But it may be the only way for you to listen.” 

He shut the door again, reached forward, and clamped the muzzle tightly on his face before Loki even had time to protest. Loki had always suspected Odin had added a spell to the muzzle and his suspicions were proven right when he felt something like a needle pierce his skin. 

He tried to scream when he felt it again and his body bent down violently. He tried to curl into himself and his fingers clawed into his own skin as he panicked and tried to get the muzzle off. 

Thor’s first instinct was to rush over to his brother and remove the muzzle, but he stopped himself after just one step forward and glared at him instead. "I don't believe you," he said. "Stop fooling around, Loki, I don't believe you!"

Loki was on his knees now, the sheet wrapped loosely around his hips. He reached out for Thor desperately trying to communicate with his eyes that it was no trick. When he felt the blood trickle down, he hoped that would be proof enough.

"I didn't want to put it on you. But it was the only way I could get you to listen to me. I'm afraid for you, brother. I'm afraid of you repeating what you've done before, and breaking my heart all over again," he told him. "No one here wants to hurt you, Loki, despite how much you've caused them pain."

Loki tried to think outside the pain but it was too much and he had to shut his eyes. The blood in his mouth finally ran out from under the muzzle and down his neck to his chest. 

Thor's eyes widened. Whether this was magic or not, he could not risk being unsure. He ran over to Loki and immediately took off the muzzle. He gasped when he saw that Loki's lips were sewn tightly and painfully together. "What has happened? What is this?" he demanded frantically, though he knew Loki could not answer.

It came to Loki then just how he might be able to end the spell. He grabbed Thor's face and brought it closer to his so their foreheads touched. It was the closest to an apology that he could give. As soon as he did, the silver threads holding his lips together vanished but the wounds inflicted by them did not. He gasped painfully for air and tore himself away from Thor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he rasped in case the spell tried to reverse itself.

Thor, feeling utterly helpless, had his mouth open in shock after Loki initiated the intimate contact that somehow released his lips from their cruel bondage. He heaved an immense sigh of relief and grabbed Loki to bring him close again, soothing him. "Shhhh, shhh, hush, brother, I will clean you up. Come..." he whispered as he wrapped an arm around his waist to guide him to the bathroom.

Loki allowed himself to be guided. He was quiet as they entered the bathroom.

Thor was sure the close the door behind him. Just because Loki was acting genuine again did not mean he trusted him not to try and pull a fast one on him again. "It's alright. I believe there are things here that will help the wounds," he soothed, rummaging through the cabinets. "Bruce will know what to do. Will you allow it?"

Loki was too tired to fight and nodded hesitantly. "Bruce! Come quick!"

There was a knock on the bathroom door fairly quickly and Bruce came in with his medical bag due to JARVIS’s prompt. "What happened?" he asked, looking over Loki and his obviously wounded mouth. He did not step closer, though his first reaction was to help. He knew there was no telling what Loki would do if he were startled.

"I'll explain later. I know you have some medicine to speed the healing," Thor said, stepping away to let Bruce do what he needed. "Don't worry, he knows better than to lash out on you. I believe it was my father's magic that did this to him."

Bruce stepped closer as he inspected the wounds. "I can clean them. If his healing factor is anything like yours, nothing else will be needed," he said, rummaging through his kit. He did not look the other man in the eyes as he began to clean the wound that have already stopped bleeding, but Loki watched every move he made carefully as if he were waiting for the Hulk to appear.

Thor sighed. "Make sure he does not leave his room. I need some air, so to speak.”

Bruce nodded as Thor left. "You know, you could be nicer to him. He's done nothing but stand up for you and you went and ran away," Bruce told the demi-god bravely, but Loki said nothing. Bruce sighed when he was done and handed Loki a tube of Neosporin. 

"Put that on it and make sure you don't repeat whatever it is you did to get those wounds in the first place."

That was when Tony, finally arriving at his mansion, stormed through its doors. He was still buzzed and angry and so unbelievably confused that he did not even feel like himself. All he was sure of was that he had to find Loki. He had to know if it was true. "Where's the little bitch?!" he demanded, and the only one to answer him was JARVIS. 

"If you are referring to Loki, sir, he is in his lavatory. He had a little bit of an injury," the computer explained.

When Tony came storming into the bathroom, Loki's shoulders tensed. "Hey, Tony," Bruce said quietly.

Tony ignored his friend. "I want to talk to him. Alone," he demanded, his eyes not leaving Loki’s, not even to blink.

"Why? What's going on? I'm not sure if you should rile him up right now," Bruce suggested, acting like they were in a room with a sedated wild animal.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "I won't rile him up. I just want to talk to him," his voice was dangerously calm.

Bruce looked like he didn't believe him but he left quietly anyway. "I am not in the mood to deal with you, Stark," Loki said, his voice sounding rough.

Tony waited until they were alone before he spoke back. "Oh really? You should have thought of that before you came at me incognito as a female and seduced me! What were you going to do, lure me into a death trap?!" he accused, his anger finally erupting from him.

Loki growled and finally stood up to glare at the man. "It was just a silly trick!" he snapped.

"Just a silly trick? Why did you do it?" Tony demanded. He remembered what Agent Fury said about Loki's mental state. This was something a child would do. "And why did you run away?"

"I did not run away!" Loki protested. "I was kidnapped by my oaf of a brother and forced to wear that muzzle!"

Tony huffed in annoyance. "You ran away from the mansion," he corrected impatiently. "You ran off on us, and we didn't know what to think. You are a tough man... or woman... to find."

"I left because there was no reason for me to stay. I am supposed to redeem myself with your group of humans but you never tell me what you are doing or include me in anything! How am I supposed to redeem myself when I'm being constantly shut out!?" 

Tony rolled his eyes. "Really? You're mad because the cool kids won't include you in their gang? Listen, you can't come waltzing back here expecting us to be best friends forever. You have to earn it. And you were doing really well so far. Until you blew it by running away," he tried to explain.

Loki wondered if he had made a mistake. He knew he had a habit of seeing the worst in others and in himself. He drew the bed sheet closer around his body. "I wasn't doing anything but staying out of everyone’s way," he said softly, but he knew the protest sounded weak.

Tony wondered if this was all just more manipulation. Maybe he really didn't know what he had done was wrong. "You weren't staying out of my way when you came at me in a bar and tried to seduce me," he growled.

Loki would have smirked if it wouldn’t have hurt his face. "I saw you going in there and wanted to see if you were really as monogamous as you claimed to be... I guess you’re not. What does your lady think about your infidelity? She should have heard about it by now."

Tony's eyes narrowed at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. "We aren't together. I broke it off. We are better as business partners. And that is none of your business. What happened to your face?"

Oh. "None of your business," Loki said, throwing Tony's words back at him.

Tony was quiet for a moment before he took a step forward towards Loki. "You fucking kissed me," he accused, acting very much like a child himself. "If you ever tell anyone, I'm gonna rip you a new one," he threatened.

"Technically, you kissed me," Loki corrected him. "And believe me when I say it would be of no benefit to me if anyone else found out."

"I didn't know," Tony insisted defensively. He wasn't used to feeling insecure. It wasn't his style. But Loki made him feel all sorts of things. 

"Of course you didn't. You wouldn't have done it otherwise so let's just forget it ever happened," Loki said a little too quickly.

Tony was very eager to agree to that. "Already forgotten," he shot back at him.

"Good. Then there is nothing else to discuss. If you see my brother out there pouting can you tell him I need to speak with him," Loki demanded.

"Fine. You weren't a very good kisser, by the way," Tony sneered before he turned around to leave, needing to have the last word, even if that last word was a bold faced lie. Loki had kissed very well. In fact, he could still taste it on his lips. 

Loki smiled with his eyes as he watched the human walk off.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Loki's mouth did not heal as quickly as it should have and the pain caused him to do his best to behave. He didn't think Thor would use the muzzle again, but if he made him angry enough, there was no telling what he may do or threaten to do. Loki knew he couldn't afford to step out of line again anytime soon. So he decided to keep a low profile and stifle his own insistent desire for constant attention. 

It was early in the afternoon when most of the Avengers gathered together in the media room. This time, they were not all gathered to discuss Loki. Instead, Hawkeye was showing Thor the wonders of daytime television. The room had a homey feel and was yellow with sunlight. Loki was curled up on the floor at Thor's feet, reading a book on American History and trying to ignore everyone else.

"So... this is real? There is such a place as the 'Jersey Shore' where strange creatures named... Snookie... dress in garments like that?" Thor asked Clint, not knowing why the question was funny when his friend giggled.

Tony walked into the room, having followed the sounds of television and laughter. It was lonely here without Pepper. After the break up, she only came to the mansion when she needed to. For business. Tony wished she just wouldn’t show up at all so that maybe he could forget about her. Inviting the Avengers team into the house was his way of distracting himself. It was his way to avoid being alone. But still, they were all just alone together. "So here is where the party is," he walked in, making eye contact with everyone but Loki.

Loki tensed, his nose buried in the book. He lowered it so he could keep an eye on Tony while he pretended to keep reading. "Clint was just trying to explain reality television to Thor," Bruce said looking up from his laptop to smile at his friend.

"Hmmm. Don't worry, Thor, I don't understand it either," Tony smirked, and Thor seemed actually relieved that he wasn't the only one. "He should be watching the classics. JARVIS, put on the first Godfather movie... Thor needs to see some good quality, American films."

Before JARVIS could agree, Steve suddenly strolled into the room and the sudden change of energy automatically killed everyone’s good vibes. His moved like a soldier with great purpose. He had just spoken to Fury. "All right, everybody,” he announced, and Tony’s shoulders slumped. “We have been lapse in our training. Everyone meet me at the gym in five minutes… Fury’s orders."

"Aw, dad, do we have to?" Tony complained sarcastically to the soldier, though the fact that just under the surface, he hated him, was still evident in his tone. 

Steve ignored the Iron Man. "You too, Loki."

Loki sneered, finally looking up from his book and looking a little like a cornered animal. "I'm not on your little team. I don't have to do as you say."

This time, Steve ignored Loki to readdress Tony, who wanted to kick his self-righteous face in. "Yes, Tony. You especially have been slacking off lately,” he said in a quieter voice. “You can pair up with Clint or Natasha or you can wear the suit and pair up with me… and Thor and Loki can practice."

"I'm not sparring with Thor," Loki said quickly. "I'm not sparring with anyone."

Tony glared angrily at Steve. He resented what he said. Of course he trained. He trained day and night. It was just that he did it alone, in the privacy of his own labs, with his robots and JARVIS to help. 

"What do you mean, ‘not with Thor’?" the other god asked his brother, trying not to sound offended. He thought that since they were at least on speaking terms, it meant something.

"When have I ever enjoyed sparring with you?" Loki asked. When they were children, their instructors had to teach them separately otherwise practice would just induce a real fight between them, and they were both such a match in both skill and strength.

Thor chose his next words carefully. "We aren't children anymore, Loki. We may have to work together some day," he told him tiredly.

"I'll do it," Tony announced loudly, and everyone still in the room turned to stare. "I'll spar with you, Loki."

Loki turned around to face the human and raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Really? In your iron suit?"

Tony shrugged. "Or without it. It would give me an unfair advantage," he told him cockily.

"Oh, I seriously doubt anything you have has any advantage over me," Loki snickered.

"I don't know," Tony shrugged, clearly unconvinced. "Me without my suit, you without your powers... might be interesting. But I am going to kick your ass," he promised with his best fake smile across his face.

They continued to bicker about who would win like two people who both liked to hear themselves talk until they were the only ones still left in the room. "Should we worry?" Steve asked Thor as they entered the gym. "Loki could so some damage if he wanted." Steve remembered their fight outside the museum in Germany. Loki had almost beaten him. He remembered what he did to Clint without a hint of remorse. 

"I will make sure that he doesn't," Thor answered. "But it will be quite a match unless one of them cheats."

Tony and Loki entered the room with matching scourers on their face. Loki eyed the boxing ring warily but followed as Tony swiftly bent under the ropes to get into it. "Are there any rules?" Loki asked, watching his component closely.

"No magic. No suit. No touching this masterpiece of a face," Tony smirked arrogantly as he began hopping up and down to warm himself up. 

Loki tilted his head to the side and he watched the human prepare himself. One quick glance at his brother stopped him from attacking the human before they even began. "What exactly are you doing?" Loki asked with amusement.

"I'm getting ready, idiot!" Tony barked at him.

Loki really didn't like to be yelled at. And just from that shift Tony’s tone, suddenly, he didn’t care anymore about Thor’s watchful gaze. A low warning growl was his only warning before he kicked Tony's legs out from under him and pinned him firmly to the floor. "Do not raise your voice to me mortal!" he hissed into his face.

Loki reminded Tony of a black leopard when he was struck with the sly move that, admittedly, took him off guard. "See? This is what we need to prepare and practice for. You're going to piss off a lot of people, and they're going to yell in your face!" he shouted right before he threw Loki off of him and onto his back. He placed a foot on his chest to hold him down.

Loki could have reached up and broken Tony's unarmored foot, and he had the feeling this was all some sort of test. So instead, he pushed him away and flipped himself back onto his feet. "All you do is yell. Did you not get enough attention as a child?"

Tony chuckled at that. "Oooh, that's the pot calling the kettle black. At least I wasn't adopted," he challenged, bracing himself for the blow that would undoubtedly follow after broaching such a sensitive issue.

Loki instantly froze. "Who told you I was adopted?" he asked with an eerie calmness.

Tony laughed at that. "Come on, everyone knows you’re adopted. You have your own Wikipedia page, you know," he said, though he knew it would mean nothing to him. In truth, it was Thor who had told them all Loki was adopted, and Tony hadn’t known it was still a secret.

Loki sent a glare over at Thor. "You're a liar. Thor told you, didn't he?" he said Tony angrily, taking a swing at his face.

Tony ducked just in time to avoid the blow of Loki's fist. "Yeah, that too," he shrugged. He saw no point in hiding the truth. "Why does it matter?"

"Because it is none of your business!" Loki shouted, and was faster when he attacked Tony, sending them both crashing back to the floor. 

Tony wrestled Loki onto his back, though it took far more effort than he thought it would. Whereas Tony was powerful, Loki was quicker. And yet there was something about being so close to Loki, like being close to a wild animal, that gave Tony an adrenaline rush like he had only ever felt in his suit. "I don't want it to be my business!" the human spat out. "But you've made it my business!" 

Tony didn't even know if they were arguing about the same thing anymore.

For some reason, Loki then allowed himself to be pinned under the mortal. Maybe he liked the position more than he would like to admit. "You’re nothing but an annoying know-it-all human who..." he trailed off mid rant when he felt something hard pressing against him. After a moment, he grinned and wrapped his legs tightly around Tony's waist so he couldn't get away. 

"You are hard," he said quietly so the others wouldn't hear.

Tony looked down at him with a confused, shocked expression. Had he really just said that? And was he really...

Oh, god.

Tony threw himself away from Loki immediately, glaring at him intensely. "I'm done here," he announced to him and their audience.  
"Seems to me that you were just getting started," Loki said smoothly.

Tony almost felt his face burning as he jumped out of the ring. "You're sick," he pointed to him angrily, as if he were the one that got a little bit too excited. "I'm out of here. This is pointless."

Loki smirked from his comfortable position on the floor of the ring and watched him storm out.   
He had won this battle, after all.

***

That night, after everyone besides Bruce had taken turns successfully beating the shit out of each other and Tony had gone to his lab to sulk for a few hours, the mansion was quiet. 

After debating about it all this time, Tony stopped by Loki's room. He loomed in the open doorway with his hands in his pockets and stared at Loki’s back. "It's normal, by the way," he said defensively, knowing he would know what he meant. "Doesn't mean anything."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself, Stark," Loki responded to the pages before him. He sighed, looked up from his book, and turned around when he realized Stark wasn't going to stomp off. "I wouldn't tell anyone, just another secret between us okay?" he offered him a way out.

"It's a normal human reaction. But of course you wouldn't know that," Tony insisted. He didn't trust him one bit not to blackmail him. "And I wasn't that hard. It's just that I'm, well, well endowed," he insisted cockily.

"Believe me when I say this, Stark, I've had bigger," Loki said with a smirk. "Look, we were in a situation where it is easy to get aroused, I didn't take it personally."

Tony was visibly hurt. Suddenly, he felt a little self conscious and looked down at himself as if he expected to see nothing at all. No, he had a nice cock, and he knew it. Loki was just lying. "Good. It wasn't personal. You're not my type," he shot back at him, but curiously tried to see what Loki was reading without actually taking any steps closer. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Loki said, clutching the book to his chest as if Tony might try and take it away. "I didn't steal it if that's what you are insinuating."

"I don't care about some book," Tony scoffed. Besides, Loki could not steal something when he couldn't even leave the mansion. 

Loki eyed him warily but showed Tony the cover. It was a book on Norse Mythology. "I wanted to see how much your people knew about us," he explained.

Tony didn't know why he was slightly embarrassed that Loki had found that book. Tony had done his own research on the two demi-gods. "Well? How much do we know?" he asked, finally stepping into the room. 

"Too much," Loki said with a frown. "But it's as though the human seers saw the story but not the right details. You should not let Thor see this."

"Why's that?" Tony asked curiously. 

"Because he does not know some things and I would rather him not know." Loki admitted, but he knew that would not satisfy Tony's curiosity, so he added, "He does not know about Sleipnir and I would rather he did not."

"Why doesn't he? There is nothing wrong with... having a... horse son," Tony said awkwardly but genuinely.

Loki wrinkled his nose at Tony's wording. "He does not know because he was away for his first battle and I was stuck at home because I was too young to go with him," he explained, still resentful. "No one knows about Sleipnir because Odin made sure no one ever knew. He was ashamed that I had gotten myself into such a predicament at such a young age."

"Hm," was Tony's only reply. He didn't know if this was all Loki's way of scheming to make Tony feel bad for him. But he knew at least some of it must be genuine. Losing children was never easy. "What about... the others?" he asked tentatively. 

Loki's hands clenched at the thought of his other children, the ones he had never gotten to see after the day they came into the world. "They were taken from me," he said in a tone that made it clear that that was the end of the story.

Tony wanted to pry further, but he knew that Loki was still a ticking time bomb and he didn't want to piss him off again. "That's tough. I'm sorry," he told him, though there wasn't an overabundance of sympathy in his tone. He still had his guard up. "I would be an awful father. I can't even keep my robots up to speed all the time.”

"What are robots?" Loki asked curiously.

"Machines. I've made them myself as sort of my… assistants. But they have developed their own personalities themselves," Tony said, though he didn't know if Loki truly could understand.

"You made yourself... friends?" Loki asked with a teasing smile.

Tony shifted nervously, knowing that made him sound pathetic. "What? No, I have plenty of real friends. They're not my friends, they're robots," he insisted.

"Sure, they are," Loki said with disbelief. "Show me," he demanded as he stood up from the bed and made his way over to Tony. 

"Show you what? My robots?" Tony asked stupidly. 

"Of course. I want to see them," Loki said. "They are in your lab aren't they? You did promise to show me your lab when we were on the roof."

For some reason, the thought made Tony very nervous. "That was when I thought I could trust you," he told him hesitantly. 

Loki rolled his eyes. "Don't lie, Stark, I am the God of Lies. You never trusted me, even before my little runaway stunt."

Tony had to smile at that. "You're right. And I probably will never trust you. But sure, I'll show you the kids," he shrugged, turning towards the door.

"They are your children?" Loki asked as he eagerly followed Tony down to his lab. "Is that why you were curious about mine?"

A minute later when Tony pushed into the lab, all of his 'kids' perked up from where they were sleeping. "They aren't my children. I told you, their robots," he said again, but furrowed his brows when all the robots seemed to hear that and sulk sadly. 

"They are more than that," Loki tisked at Tony as he inspected each one, fascinated by them. "They are beautiful," he told Tony sincerely. 

"Thank... thank you. This is Butterfinger, DUM-E, and U," he told Loki awkwardly. "Say hi, kids."

They were extraordinary to Loki and they seemed to be just as interested in him as he was of them. They practically breathed of artificial life, and it made him smile. This human was talented enough to create life from inorganic matter… not even Odin could do that. Loki reached a pale hand to trace it down the shiny metal on DUM-E. "Hello, Stark children. I am Loki."

Tony had to force back a smile as the robots practically cooed from the attention. "They don't get out much. And they don't get much socialization. They can get over excited," he explained. He watched, dumbstruck, never having met anyone who had so much interest in his robots.

"Your Father doesn't let you out to play enough," Loki told the robots before he turned around to send a mischievous smile Tony's way.

"They play all the time. They help... in their own ways. But they're not perfect... I never really got around to fixing up their kinks," he admitted, though if he were truly being serious, he thought they were perfect anyway.

"Everyone has flaws, so they should, too," Loki said quietly.

Tony said nothing to that as he watched his 'children' continue to coo over their new friend. "They like you," he commented, his voice full of amusement. "They were never really good judges of character.”

Loki smiled at the robots. "I think they are more intuitive than you give them credit for. They know I won't hurt them. I don't hurt children."

Tony knew that not to be true. He was going to dominate the world and enslave the human race, after all. It was fascinating, really... to see a creature such as Loki visibly soft over a few silly robots. He was never under the impression that Loki was as stone cold as he sometimes behaved, but it was odd to see him so act so childlike. 

"They never liked Pepper," Tony mused to himself.

Loki smirked. "They obviously have great taste... unlike their father."

Tony pursed his lips. "Very funny. Now if you don't mind, it is past their bedtime. They are supposed to be charging," he told them, and each robot seemed to slump in protest.   
"But I didn't get to visit long," Loki complained, not realizing he was pouting just as much as the robots.

Tony wondered if Loki was better with animals and robots than actually humans. "You can visit them again later," he suggested.

Loki sulked but stood up from the spot he had been sitting on the floor. "Fine, but you had better keep your word, Stark."

"I always do," Tony promised, though that wasn't necessarily true. "JARVIS, will you make sure they charge up?" he asked his other creation, who responded immediately with a ‘yes, sir’. 

"Liar," Loki accused as he followed Tony out.

"Alright. Maybe I don't. But I'm only human," Tony smirked as he signaled to JARVIS to shut off the lights and secure the room. 

Loki sneered at that. "A human with light coming out of his chest that magic can't touch and an iron suit to ride around in…"

"I'm a very smart human," Tony pointed out. "And what do you mean, magic can't touch it?”

"My staff wouldn't work on you," Loki reminded him. "It worked on every human but you."

Tony began to walk with Loki back to their rooms. "Guess you have to be more creative next time you try to kill me."

"Well, I can be very creative," Loki said. 

Tony raised his eyebrows and stopped in front of his own bedroom. "Is that a threat?" he asked bluntly.

"Do you feel threatened?" Loki stopped as well.

Tony scoffed. "No. It takes more than a little fairy in a cape to threaten me."

"I haven't worn the cape since I've been here," Loki said with a smirk. "Did you like it? Of course you liked Asgardian armor, with all that leather."

"Who says anything about me liking leather?" Tony challenged.

"Oh, I could tell the moment we met when you looked me up and down," Loki said, just to work Tony up.

Tony puffed up defensively. "I was thinking that my suit looked a lot better than yours. I don't look like a pussy."

Loki was suddenly right in front of Tony, looking down at him from his above average height. "Do not lie to yourself Anthony," he practically purred. "You wanted me the moment you laid eyes on me." 

That, like so many other things Loki did, caught Tony off guard. "What? Wh- oh, is that what you thought it was?" he laughed. "Is this about the boner thing? Because I thought we already established that it wasn't about you. I think you're confusing lust with anger.”

"I think sometimes lust and anger can be confused with one another," Loki said softly, reaching out to run his hand down Tony's chest. "I could change into my female form if you want."

Tony flinched back from his touch and glared at him. "Oh, I see. This is about the kiss. You were a fine enough woman, but I'm still not interested. Besides, you have Thor," he said spitefully, trying to turn it around and accuse Loki of something instead. 

Loki froze. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, actually sounding a bit panicked.

Tony was just glad that the attention was now off of him. "Oh, please. It's not a big secret, the way you two are with each other. Incestuous lovebirds," he mocked.

Loki stepped away from Tony as if he had burned him. "I don't know what you are talking about. You will shut your mouth about my brother or I will skin you alive." 

"Hey, I got nothing against Thor. In fact, I think you should treat him better," Tony held up his hands defensively.

"I think you should mind your tongue before I tear it out of your head," Loki growled, stepping threateningly close to him again.

Tony took a step even closer to try and intimidate the taller man. "Mmm, kinky," he threw back at him.

Loki reached out to strike an unblinking Tony but stopped himself, knowing his brother would not approve. "You are a lucky man, Stark. I don't usually let people live who talk to me the way that you do."

Tony held his ground. "I don't think you're nearly as tough as you pretend to be," he shot back at him.

"I don't have to be tough to break your weak human body in half."

"I'd snap you like a twig, Princess."

"You seem to think you are always protected by your metal suits... right now you are defenseless.”

"Not so much. I would have kicked your ass back to Asgard if hurting you didn't turn me on," Tony growled. 

"Really? Is that why your cock was so interested earlier? Because you thought you were hurting me?" Loki mocked. 

Tony tried not to let his sudden anxiousness show on his face. "Why are you so interested in what my cock is thinking, hmm?"

"I think your cock might be the most interesting part about you. It can't lie like your mouth can."

Tony held up his hands. "Too bad you'll never get to know it!"

Loki gave him a look that said he was unconvinced. "I've bedded better men than you."

Tony scoffed as if that could possibly be threatening to his ego. "Yeah? Well, I've fucked some pretty hot chicks in my life."

Loki suddenly smiled with amusement. "Chicks?" he questioned.

Tony rolled his eyes. Sometimes he forgot that the he was talking to an alien. "Girls. Females," he spelled out for him angrily. 

"Women are easy to bed. Men are the real challenge," Loki said. 

Tony wondered where this guy thought up such bullshit. "Not in this world, sweet-cheeks."

"Have you ever bedded a man, then?" Loki challenged.

"No, I'm not into that," Tony shot back defensively. 

"How would you know if you've never tried it?”

"Because I've never felt the need to try it," Tony argued.

This time it was Loki's turn to roll his eyes. "Why are you so upset over that? It was just a bit of fun, do you want an apology?"

Tony had already run out of comebacks. "No. I-... I just want you to leave me alone," he stuttered. "Go on, shoo," he tried to push Loki away like he was an unwanted pest. 

Loki slowly grew concerned that he might have actually offended the one person who bothered to talk to him besides his brother. "Fine... thank you for showing me your lab." 

That threw Tony off again. How did this guy manage to do it that often? He had never met anyone before that could derail him as much as Loki could. "Fine," was his only short reply. He sounded like he wanted to be angry, but was just confused instead.

"Good night, Mr. Stark," Loki said, and quickly turned around and headed off towards the direction of Thor and his rooms. Perhaps he should do as Tony suggested and treat his brother better. All this arguing with the human had him to riled up to sleep.

Tony gave Loki's back a strange look before he sighed and shut himself inside his bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6

That night, Loki went straight to Thor's room. They had not spoken much to one another since the muzzle incident but Loki was determined to make things right this time. He slipped into his brother’s bedroom quietly, knowing from the soft snoring that Thor was sleeping. He crawled into the bed beside him. "Thor," he whispered into the darkness, trying to wake him gently.

Thor, who was always a light sleeper except for those nights when he passed out drunk, woke slowly to the feel of the warm, familiar body next to him whispering his name. Even in the dark, he could see Loki's bright blue eyes locked on his. "Hello, love," he mumbled affectionately. 

Loki smiled and snuggled closer, wrapping his arm around Thor's waist. "I missed you, being away from you. I shouldn't have left," he admitted softly. "You're a good brother, Thor. Have I told you that?" 

Thor gazed at Loki, not returning his embrace but not pulling away. "You've never told me that. And you don't mean it now," he said knowingly, but there was no anger in his voice, only sadness. 

"I do mean it. I'm not lying. I can't lie to you now, remember the spell?"

"I'm sure that you have already found a way around it," Thor sighed drowsily and stretched like a big cat. "Do you love me?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes," Loki answered immediately. 

Loki's quick answer startled Thor. For a moment, the god of thunder was thrown back. "You tried to run away. And you said awful things when I found you," he reminded.

"People often hurt the ones they love the most," Loki pointed out.

"I would never hurt you, brother," Thor disagreed softly.

"That's because you’re a better man than I am," Loki teased as he stroked Thor's gold hair softly. 

Thor had to agree with that. "You will betray me again.” 

"I don't want too, but it seems possible. Perhaps it's in my nature," Loki said, but the way those words tasted coming out of his mouth made his stomach clench. 

"You just don't know how much good you have in you. If you just tried..." Thor stopped, wondering if any of it was even worth it. He knew Loki would never change. 

"I will, I will try," Loki pleaded quickly as if sensing that his brother might give up on him. "I'll try harder, I promise. I'll make you proud of me."

It was breaking his heart to see Loki’s pride stomped flat. Finally, Thor embraced him, wrapping his arms around him and bringing him closer. "Alright, love," he soothed him like a trembling child.

Loki sighed happily, glad that Thor had finally given in before he could embarrass himself further. "Can I sleep here tonight?" 

"Yes. You can always sleep here," Thor told him right away. "I wish you would do it more often."

"Thank you," Loki said. He wondered if Thor was relaxed enough that he could get something else out of him. "Thor? Will you use the muzzle on me again?"

Thor furrowed his brows at the question. "Only if I absolutely need to," he said honestly. "It is your choice." 

Loki would never admit to it, but he pouted. "But it was painful," he whined. "It might have scarred." 

"Oh, your poor, beautiful face," Thor rolled his eyes with sarcasm. "I didn't know there was magic tied to it, Loki."

Loki's fingers clawed hard at Thor's shirt. "I know you didn't, but you know now and you are saying you will do it again if you have to." 

"Calm down. I promise I won't use the muzzle again," Thor was quick to soothe him, running his thumb over his brother’s mouth where the stubborn wounds were still healing. 

Loki relaxed, because Thor never lied to him. After a few drowsy moments of silence, he caught his brother's thumb between his lips and sucked on it suggestively. 

Thor didn't care then if Loki was only doing it to prevent the muzzle from ever happening again. Instantly, he felt his body respond to him, as only it does with him, and he took his hand away to replace it with his mouth in a deep kiss. Suddenly, Loki remembered something Stark had said and pulled away. "Stark knows about us."

"Knows about what? This?" Thor scoffed. It didn't matter to him. "Does that bother you?" 

Loki didn’t really know how to answer that. "I bothers me what others might think and Stark isn't really one for keeping secrets," he said, all though that wasn't quite true. Stark never told Thor about meeting Loki on the roof that night.

"You care too much," Thor told him critically, completely unconcerned as he reached for him again. "What we do together isn't wrong." 

Loki leaned into Thor. "I know. I just want it to be between us."

"It is. It always has been. Ever since we were children and realized what it really was between our legs," Thor teased, his hand sliding down Loki’s naked, lean chest.

"You’re not funny," Loki pouted again, but soon leaned in to kiss Thor teasingly. "Stark probably has this whole house watched. What if he was watching us right now? Would you feel the same?"

"Yes," Thor told him without hesitating. "I don't care." The god slid on top of Loki then, pressing down with his superior weight and kissed him hard, his erection digging into his hip. 

"You, dear brother, are a beast," Loki said with a smirk before pushing Thor off of him and straddling his waist so that he was on top. "What if I want to fuck you for once?"

Thor smiled as he crossed his arms under his head to admire the view. "You like my cock inside you too much.”

Loki cocked his head to the side as he considered this. "You may have a point, but it doesn't mean I don't want to try it. Have you ever laid down for a man before?"

"I don't want to," Thor shrugged, not wanting to explain.

Loki raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, maybe I don't want to, either."

Thor glared at him. "Then I suppose we are not coupling tonight," he growled, but then his expression softened. "What is this about? What is wrong? I thought... I thought you liked things the way they were."

"I do… just thought we might try something new. I always end up on my back for you," Loki shrugged, his hands clenching at Thor's shirt. 

"You don't have to be on your back," Thor suggested. 

Loki sighed and laid his head down on Thor's chest. "You just don't trust me. You never have." 

"That's not true," Thor insisted, though he didn't specify what he was defending. Thor didn't trust Loki now, but he did in the past. He didn't think he ever would again, but he didn't want to admit that. About to give up, he sighed and slid away from Loki, turning onto his side so his back faced his brother. "If you came here to argue, I am not participating." 

"I don't want to fight... can I still sleep here?" Loki asked pathetically, sliding his arm around Thor's waist.

"It's not a matter of trust, Loki," Thor sighed. He turned onto his other side to face Loki and to travel his hand down his brother's perfect chest to land on his half hard erection. Loki thought Thor was just going to ignore his earlier protests and mount him anyway, but Thor pushed Loki none too roughly onto his back and whispered, "Let me please you in other ways, love," and began to kiss down Loki's chest. Loki moaned and automatically arched up into the touch. 

Thor trailed wet, sloppy, open mouthed kisses down Loki’s chest until he reached his naval. He paid special attention to that area before he decided he had wasted enough time and nuzzled the soft, short black hair around his cock that was now fully hard. He moaned and his wide tongue licked up his shaft.

"Watch the beard burn," Loki gasped, but then could no longer speak.

Thor pulled back to laugh softly. "I'll try to be gentle," he whispered before he sank his mouth down on his cock. 

"Ah!" Loki yelled, caught off guard by the sudden wet heat. Thor smirked around his width as he set to work with his hand pumping and his mouth sucking. This was the first time he had ever done this, but it didn't seem wrong.

"You are... too good... at this," Loki panted, but then felt himself coming undone and he gripped Thor's hair with warning. It was soon, too soon, and he was about to make an embarrassing mess of himself like they were thirteen again, but he could not stop the tidal wave.

Thor moaned, sending vibrations through his body and encouraging him to lose control. This time, Loki couldn't keep himself quiet. Thor in between his legs with his mouth on his cock was too much for his decorum and he screamed loud enough for the whole house to hear. 

Thor laughed and sucked harder, ignoring his own cock that was now throbbing and rubbing against the sheets. Loki gasped and came hard down Thor's throat, feeling his legs go boneless and limp.

Thor sucked him dry and let Loki's twitching cock slip from his mouth. "Has no one done that for you before?" he teased as he slid up his body and pressed his own erection against his hip.

Loki chuckled breathlessly. "Never which such enthusiasm before… and where did you learn that?"

Thor rolled his eyes. "You don't have to learn to do that."

"So you are just a natural cock sucker?" Loki smiled at his own use of Midgardian crude language.

"No. Shut up. If you haven't noticed, I'm very hard," he pointed out, pressing his erection impatiently against him.

"I know you are, I’m ignoring you," Loki smiled and closed his eyes. "I'm very tired, you wore me out." 

"You can't be serious," Thor demanded. "After all that, I get nothing?" 

"I'll take care of you in the morning,” Loki yawned, wondering how far he could push his brother's patience. 

Thor knew it was pretty typical for Loki to take and take and give nothing back. Selfish bastard. Thor threw himself off of Loki and glared at the ceiling. It was interesting how much their sibling rivalry made its way into their bed. "Fuck you, brother. Get out." 

"I'm not leaving," Loki insisted, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly. This hadn't been what he had been trying to manipulate his brother into doing. 

Thor clenched his teeth together in anger. "You have no idea what it is like to do something simply to please the other person," he scowled. 

Loki rolled over on to his side to face Thor He reached out to trace his angry frown with his finger tips. "There is the temper I remember. Where have you been hiding it? Did you have to push it deep down to get the humans to like you?" he asked, knowing how to push buttons. 

Thor fumed with rage. "No. I have been hiding nothing," he growled, shoving Loki's hand away from his face. "You got what you wanted, now leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving. I wanted to sleep with you tonight."

Thor wondered if Loki was doing this just because he was bored. "You're being manipulative and I'm not playing games. You know exactly why I'm upset and exactly why I want you out of my fucking bed." 

Loki rolled his eyes and flopped back on his back. "Fine then, fuck me," he demanded. 

Thor didn't move. "No. I am not selfish like you are, Loki, I will not bed you just for my own pleasure. You missed your chance, you snake," he cursed.

Loki growled and was suddenly on top of Thor, pinning his hands to the bed. "Don't call me that, you oaf!" 

Thor hated the power Loki had over him. He could raise his hope only to crush it down again. He could break his spirit with just a few fiery words. "You think you're stronger than me?" he challenged angrily as he wrestled Loki for dominance. "I could call you a great deal of other things that are worse!"

Loki knew he shouldn't have started this. He had never been good at wrestling his brother. "Oh believe me, you can't call me anything that I haven't heard before," he spat angrily. 

Thor threw Loki off of him with ease and pinned his hands over his head. "I'm not that cruel," he snarled. 

Loki smirked and went limp in Thor's hold. He wrapped his legs tightly around Thor's waist and grinded up against him roughly.

Thor hesitated only for a moment before he threw himself away from Loki to glare at the ceiling. "I said I'm not playing games. If you need to rut against something, find someone or something else," he said under his breath, though he didn't mean it. Not really. The thought of Loki with anyone else still sent shivers of rage down his spine and made his hand itch for his hammer. 

"You know what, maybe I will," Loki huffed angrily and jumped out of the bed. 

Thor rolled his eyes but made no move to keep him close. "No, you won't. You cannot leave the mansion," he said tiredly.

Loki wanted to rub it in Thor's face that he knew the Iron Man was at least a little attracted to him, but something made him not bring that up. So he sat perched on the edge of the bed, feet dangling with indecision. "I can't go to sleep with you mad at me," he confessed softly.

Thor sighed heaviest then. He was too tired of this. "You shouldn't have made me mad at you, then," he shrugged, not expecting an apology. 

Loki lay back down and faced Thor. "It's not exactly hard to make you mad." 

Thor closed his eyes and relaxed. All traces of his arousal were gone, leaving his balls with a dull, heavy ache. "Then it shouldn't be such a game to you," he muttered. 

"I know... I can't help it. It's one of my favorite games to play with you."

"Yes, you can. If you truly loved me, you wouldn't tease me so," Thor whispered, feeling Loki close, but not close enough to touch.

"Thor, don't say that. You know I love you," Loki said, reaching out to run his hand up and down Thor's chest. 

This time, Thor did not push him away. He said nothing at all. Loki scooted closer so that he could rest his head on his chest, testing the waters. Thor huffed and finally brought his hand up to Loki's hair to brush his fingers through it, still saying nothing. Loki fully relaxed and wrapped a possessive arm around Thor's waist. 

It was a few minutes before being so close to Loki, enjoying peace and silence for once, made Thor slip into a lighter, slightly more forgiving mood. "You owe me one," he teased.

"Yes," Loki agreed. "Whatever you want."

Thor knew that Loki was too selfish to really fix this. "So you're going to sleep in my bed from now on?" he asked hesitantly.

"I don't know," Loki said, not wanting to admit what had driven him to the safety of his brother's bed. "I might, if you will have me."

"I would," Thor answered simply, though he knew better than to believe it made them in any way committed to one another.

Loki wondered if there was anything he could do to push his brother away from him. They seemed to constantly tear each other apart before coming back together again. Loki kissed Thor's cheek and coaxed his face around to kiss his lips. His warrior brother could sometimes be so weak.

Thor threaded his fingers back into his hair to deepen the kiss and hold him to him, his other hand sliding down his lean body. Loki moaned into the kiss and maneuvered himself so that he was in Thor's lap.

Thor's hands found their way under Loki’s shirt to grip his waist, feeling his own body respond from the heated kiss and the pressure of thighs straddling his groin. Loki pulled away so he could strip down, pushing his shirt over his head and returning his lips back to Thor as he shimmied out of his pants.

Thor was captivated, his hands restless in their exploration the exposed skin. He was still mostly naked, his own rising, sore erection obvious underneath Loki. He hoped this time that he knew where this was going. 

Loki's hand reached between their bodies to grasp Thor's cock and paused. "Can I ride you?" he asked, his tone unsure. He knew how Thor liked to believe he was in control.  
But Thor only pleaded breathlessly. "Yes... yes, please.”

Loki smiled. It was an innocent smile of pure delight that few ever got to see grace his features, and he kissed Thor again before straightening his back and lowering himself slowly onto his cock. He let out a gasp when he was fully seated. 

Thor moaned loudly when Loki was impaled. It was almost too much and he grasped his brother's hips. "Easy," he whispered, but knew Loki wouldn't listen.

"I'm not one of your women," Loki hissed. "I don't have to go easy." He bent forward to nip at Thor’s lips.

Thor grinned. "I like that you're not one of my women. You are something much more special to me," he confessed. His hot, sweating palms explored him impatiently. "Fuck me, then," he cursed crudely. 

Loki smirked and lifted himself up on his knees only to slam back down hard, intending to do just what Thor asked of him. Thor cried out as he thrust back in a perfect rhythm and his hands gripped his waist. But still, he let Loki have all the control; something he knew excited the trickster more than anything else ever has. 

He needed to think that in moments like this, Loki wasn't faking.

Loki lost his rhythm when Thor suddenly kissed him. He moaned into his mouth and his hands clung possessively to his brother’s shoulders. "Feel good?" Thor asked, wanting to hear Loki say it. 

"Yes," Loki whispered, leaning his forehead against Thor's and closing his eyes, focusing on memorizing the feel of him inside while he rode him slowly but deeply. "I want you to come in me," he pleaded.

"I can't, love," Thor managed to say, though he made no move to pull away even as he felt himself reaching his peak. Loki didn't say anything. Instead, he just concentrated on riding Thor harder until he could feel his own orgasm approaching.

Thor could tell that Loki was trying to bring him off, and though he wanted to last, he knew he couldn't. Wanting more control now lest Loki tried to trick him into coming before pulling out, he pushed his brother onto his back and began to roughly thrust into him. 

"I'm gonna come," he warned.

Loki bit down hard on his on cheek to stave off his own orgasm. He was not happy with the sudden change in positions but there was nothing he could do about it. "Then come," he encouraged as he purposely clenched down on Thor's cock.

Thor shouted and quickly pulled out of Loki to take himself in his own hand and release all over Loki’s naked chest. He continued to stroke himself through his orgasm until Loki gritted his teeth angrily and pushed the other man off to his side. Loki was still painfully hard when he turned his back to his brother, intent on ignoring him completely for the rest of the night.

Confused and still fuzzy from orgasm, Thor turned over to look down at Loki. "Wha- what happened? Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to-" he tried.

"Thor, don't be ridiculous. I'm tired and I want to go to sleep. Leave me be," Loki barked. 

Thor became frustrated, not knowing what he did wrong. "Don't do this again," he begged, and threw Loki onto his back so he could wrap his palm around his cock and begin to stroke him. 

Loki snarled, but it drowned into a moan when Thor's fingers found his cock. "I'm not coming without you in me," he said angrily. 

Thor didn't stop bringing him back to the edge. "I already came..." he reasoned, not knowing why it was so important to him.

"I wanted you to come inside me," Loki whined while trying not to push into Thor's hand.

"Why?" Thor asked softly. "Why do you want it so bad?"

"Why can't you just give it to me?" Loki panted.

Thor continued to jerk him, meaning to finally bring him off. But Loki always did have impressive stamina. "I can't. You know why," he insisted as gently as possible. He did not want to fight and that is exactly what would happen if he accused Loki of only trying to get pregnant. 

Loki suddenly grabbed Thor's hand to stop him. "I don't want to come, then," he said stubbornly.

Thor groaned loudly and threw himself away from Loki, this time, turning his back to him and finally giving up with a heavy huff. After a few moments, Loki's heavy breathing was the only noise heard in the silence. 

He knew he made Thor angry. He did not come into his bed with that intention, but as usual, he screwed it up anyway. "I'm not good for you, am I?" he asked quietly in the darkness.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Thor demanded.

"I mean I cause you nothing but grief and yet you still let me back into your bed every time."

"Yes, and you take advantage of me," Thor agreed. "And the only reason you came in here was to seduce me into... into giving you a child.”

Loki rolled his eyes even when he knew Thor couldn't see him. "I don't want your child, I just wanted you to actually let loose for once and trust me with something."

Thor sighed. "No, I don't believe that.” 

"Thor, I know my body. I know when I'm..." Loki searched awkwardly for the right word. "...fertile. I could have gotten pregnant with your child many times but I haven't."

Thor shook his head. "I've never come undone inside you."

"No, but were plenty of times when we were younger and I wouldn't let you touch me for that that very reason," Loki told him.

Thor shifted uncomfortably, remembering some of those days. "Well, it shouldn't mean that much to you.”

"Well, I'm sorry but it does."

"I just don't understand, Loki," Thor admitted.

Loki bravely snuggled closer to Thor with his head on his chest. "I know you don't. Sometimes I don't either. Just let me sleep."

"Let you sleep?" Thor scoffed, though he made no move to throw Loki off of him. "Loki, we need to be honest with each other," he whispered after another moment passed.

"I'm trying," Loki said quietly. 

"No, you're not trying," Thor insisted. "Do you really think you cannot be truthful to me, as I am with you?"

"With this curse on me I don't really have a choice, do I?" Loki pointed out a little resentfully. "Just because I don't tell you everything does not make me a liar."

"I mean you should be honest with your... emotions with me. I will not be upset with you if you just are honest about how you feel," Thor corrected him though it was clear he was getting tired of it.

Loki sat up and looked down at the other man as if he was trying to understand what Thor was saying by getting a look at his face. "You know that I love you, what more is there to know?" 

A sigh was Thor’s only response. He knew there was no getting through to Loki. He still suspected that he was hiding something, but he knew his brother would keep that secret to himself for eternity. "Alright, fine. I'm going to sleep.”

Loki snuggled down with Thor and tucked his head under his chin. His hand wrapped around his hips possessively. Finally, when he felt his brother relax, Thor ran his fingers through Loki’s shortened black hair. "I like this new hair cut," he teased quietly. 

"Do you?" Loki said with a smile. "I thought you would like it longer so you would have a better grip."

"I can still grip it," Thor smirked, and gave it a playful tug to demonstrate.

Loki groaned at the pull. "Don't do that. You know what it does to me."

Yes, Thor knew what it did to him, and that's why he did it every chance he got. But no matter how playful they were now, he still felt that Loki had many things to hide. "I've noticed... you have been speaking to Tony Stark a lot lately. Why is that?"

Loki tensed at the mention of Stark. "He is the only human that will talk to me.”

"That's not true. There are others. They will warm up to you," Thor assured him softly, his fingers still working through his hair. "But you like him," he added with no emotion in his voice. Well, perhaps 'like' wasn't the word. There was something similar to curiosity and maybe even fascination in his eyes whenever they gazed upon the Iron Man.

"I don't like him," Loki said too quickly. "He is just smarter than the others... and he has these fascinating robots."

Thor sighed. "You do. You like him," he whispered, remembering what happened during training. 

Loki let out a nervous sigh. "Even if I did, he doesn't like me so you don't have to worry about me whoring myself off."

Thor shifted uncomfortably. "What if he did? Would you sleep with him?" he asked bluntly.

Loki remembered the feeling of Tony on top of him and those dark eyes taking him in. "I don't know. Please, don't ask me again.”

Although his expression did not show it, Thor's heart ached a little from his brother's confession, even though he did not mean to give it. "He could never be what I am to you, you know," he told him, trying to keep his jealousy at bay.

"I just... I just like talking to him," Loki said.

"Good," Thor whispered a little passive aggressively. 

"Let's just go home," Loki proposed suddenly. "If you told Odin I've been properly punished… perhaps he would go along with it." 

Thor shook his head. He knew that this wasn't just a punishment. He had just as much say with Odin as Loki did. And the Avengers… they would need them eventually. "In time," he promised. "In time, I'll take you home, and we will live happily with each other," he envisioned with a smile.

"Why can't we go and live happily now?" Loki asked, not understanding at all.

Thor remembered what the human had said about Loki still being a child. "The humans need us, Loki," he tried to explain. 

Loki huffed at that. "No they don't. They are perfectly capable of handling themselves." 

Thor continued to work his fingers through his hair. "That's not true. You never know when a beautiful but angry demi-god is going to try to take over the world. They need us," he teased lightly.

Loki smiled smugly at the description. "You forgot magnificent in bed."

"Yes, well, that goes without saying. The avengers need his handsome, strong brother to protect the world from him."

Loki frowned when he thought of something they hadn't really talked about. "You know… the one who took me isn't going to let it slide that I failed him. He will come after me sooner or later."

Thor was speechless for a moment, shocked that Loki even brought it up. He never expected him to. "I don't want you to worry about that. You are safe here with me," he promised seriously.

When Loki only met him with silence, Thor wrapped his arms around him, running his warm hands up and down his spine. "What did they do to you, love? You can tell me."

"No," Loki said quietly but firmly. "Just forget I said anything and go to sleep."

Thor didn't really expect Loki to open up. But he still had hope that one day he would. "I won't forget. When you're ready to tell me, I will listen," he told him.

Loki sighed and relaxed even further into Thor's arms. "Okay," he said softly.

"Go to sleep."

For once, Loki listened to his brother, shut his mouth, and concentrated on drifting off inside the warmth of his brother’s arms and the wide bed that had swallowed them. But a peaceful night's sleep wasn't meant to be.

***

A few hours later, a sudden banging at Thor's door startled both men awake. "Thor! Get up! There is a robotic army attacking the city. We have to get out there!" Captain America yelled through the door.

Thor startled at the sound of the human's voice through his door and did not hesitate before he threw himself out of the safe comfort of the bed. "I told you one day they would need us. Get dressed, brother," he commanded Loki. He grabbed his clothes, shaking off the rest of his sleep quickly, and urging Loki to hurry. "Don't fail us, Loki. Please, behave for this one," he ordered, though his voice was pleading.

Loki groaned and pulled the pillow over his head. "I have no magic, Thor. I'm useless on the battlefield.”

"You are still strong, come on!" Thor shouted, throwing Loki his human clothing. They had no time. They were supposed to be ready at any time for this.

Loki groaned and pushed himself out of bed but a voice from the ceiling stopped him. "Actually, Sir, Director Fury asked that I make sure Loki stays inside the mansion," JARVIS's voice announced. 

Thor froze, still not used to hearing JARVIS speaking from out of nowhere. "That wasn't part of the plan... Loki is a part of our team," he talked to the disembodied voice attached to the house, though he didn't know why he was defending him. 

Loki rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm not part of the team, Thor. I'm a prisoner."

"You were never meant to stay that way," Thor growled. "Loki comes with me!" he shouted to the invisible man, the concept of robots still very confusing to him.

"Thor, go. You don't have time to argue with a machine. I will see you after the battle,” Loki promised.

Thor turned to look at his brother who still had not bothered to get dressed. He knew then that they didn't have time to argue. "Stay here. I will come find you after," he instructed bossily before he grabbed his hammer with an amazing magnetic force and strode heavily out of the bedroom.

Thor caught up with the others as fast as he could, finding Tony who was already suited up and ready. "You leave the imp at home?" the Iron Man asked. Thor nodded, wanting to focus on other things, things that mattered more right now. 

"Fury doesn't know who is behind the machines that are attacking the city. Let's hope whoever it is is at least human," Natasha said. 

"Whoever it is needs these droids to do his dirty work for him... maybe he is human," Tony thought out loud, though his eyes brightened up inside the suit when he another thought came to him that should have been clearer before. "Wait... they are just a decoy! Stop!" he shouted, but no one seemed to hear. No one but the Captain who was right beside him looking lost. 

"I'm going back to the mansion," Tony announced, and not waiting for a reply, he shot out into the air.


	7. Chapter 7

Loki had almost gone back to sleep by the time the security alarm began its screams. When it did, he flung himself out of bed and grabbed the nearest item of clothing he could find - a pair of Thor's pajama pants. He wasn't sure what was going on but it seemed that the attack on the city was just a decoy for the real attack… which appeared to be the Avenger's mansion itself.

He tried to call out for JARVIS but the A.I. wasn't responding and he had to quickly silence himself when the alarm was abruptly cut off. Loki could hear someone in the house. Assuming they were planning to break into Stark's lab, Loki tip toed down the hall in the opposite direction until he reached Stark's bedroom. 

It was a horrible miscalculation. Almost a minute after he locked himself inside, it was torn down.

The armored human was older than most Loki had dealt with in the past but this man smelled of unearthly magic. He was wearing a suit similar to Tony's but it was bigger and bulkier, causing him to tower over Loki. Loki knew immediately that he simply could not compete with him.

"Well, what do we have here? Stark's dirty little secret hiding out in his room?" the man said mockingly with a thick accent while his large, robotic arm shot out to grab Loki by the throat.

Tony stomped into the house, busted open a wall, troubleshooted JARVIS, and immediately announced the intruder. He followed the sounds of struggle to his own bedroom where he found Loki dangling by his throat from the enemy. He looked around frantically for a moment until they locked eyes through their suits. Where the fuck was everyone else?

Taking matters into his own hands, Tony’s iron fist slammed the other man into the wall, forcing him to let Loki go.

Loki's knees hit the floor and he gasped for air and he had never been more thankful to see Tony Stark in his life. The man in the other suit laughed as he got his bearings and stood tall again. "Ah, so glad you made it, Stark. I was just having a little chat with your friend here about the password to your lab. He wasn't very forthcoming."

"Nice suit. You get that idea yourself?" Tony accused angrily, even lowering his mask to show his human face. If this amateur thought he threatened and intimidate him, he had another thing coming. "Now, it's been fun, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave." 

"Oh, I'll be leaving. With you," the man threatened with a maniac grin before a dart shot out of his outstretched wrist and hit Tony right in the neck. 

A second later, everything was black.

***

The sedative worked quicker than Tony had, and for that, he would kick himself later. An hour later, he woke up in a cell, suit-less with an aching headache. The world dissolved back to him slowly, and when he blinked to clear his vision, he found Loki next to him. 

"Goddammit," he snarled.

Loki started when Tony finally woke and said something. "I didn't know if you would wake up," he confessed, trying to keep the concern out of his voice. Here he was, captured by some mad human and powerless with his only means of possible escape passed out next to him.

Their captor had left them in a windowless room and chained to a medal ring in the center. The chains were heavy with binding magic. Loki had spent the last hour trying to pick free to no avail. 

"It was just a sedative. Of course I would wake up. They want us alive," Tony told him a little defensively. He was not so easily killed and he had already escaped a situation much worse than this. 

Loki snorted at that. "They want you alive. The only reason they haven't killed me yet is because they think I am your lover."

"Ha! My what?" Tony laughed out loud, though it made his head ache more. The idea was ridiculous. "They obviously don't know anything about me. Who is this guy?"

"He assumed that because I was in your room, half-dressed, that I was yours," Loki told him, not mentioning that the very visible lover mark that Thor had left on his neck could also have been a clue. "I may not have dissuaded their assumptions on purpose. If they know the truth there will be no reason to keep me alive. The man calls himself Dr. Doom... and you call me melodramatic." 

"Little does he know you were fucking your brother," Tony told him crudely, the headache making him mean.

Loki actually flinched and had no sharp words to say back. The cell was very quiet after that. Eventually, Tony found the silence intolerable. "The others will find us. Do you know what he did to my suit?" he asked.

Loki clenched his jaw, wanting to be stubbornly quiet but knowing he would need the iron man to get out of this. "No, they separated us when we got here for a while," he mumbled. The slow healing scrapes and bruises on his body were the only evidence of him trying to fight back. He was angry at himself for putting his neck out for Stark. He had been worried they would kill him and he had let out a sigh of relief when they brought Tony’s unconscious body back.

"What a hell of a time for you to not have any powers. I'm stuck in a cell with a demi-god, but it's useless," Tony muttered angrily. He knew it wasn't fair, to take it out on Loki, but he did not even seem to be paying attention.

"We will just have to outsmart them," Loki said, already scheming. "They obliviously want something from you."

Tony gave him a warning glare. "Me? Why me? It may have nothing to do with me," he said defensively. 

Loki rolled his eyes. "Of course this is all about you. Isn't it always about Anthony Stark?" he hissed angrily. 

"I thought the only person more arrogant than me was you," Tony shot back at him angrily. "God, I'd rather be in this hell hole with anyone else but you." Okay, except for Bruce, he thought to himself.

Loki barely resisted the urge to fling himself at the other man. "Likewise, but we are stuck in this together so we might as well work together and try and keep each other alive." 

Tony scoffed at that. "Trust each other?" he echoed back to him. "Fine. I guess we have no choice. Just follow my lead them. I'll think of a plan." 

At that moment, a door opened to let in the man who called himself Dr. Doom (thankfully without the dreadful suit) and several of his hired muscle. "Glad to see you're up and awake, Mr. Stark. You may be curious as to why you are here. I just need the password to your personal files and we will let you go."

"Not a chance," Tony shot back at him immediately. "If it's me you want, then fine. But let the kid go." He nodded towards Loki. 

"And why would I let your pretty boy go?" Doom asked, nodding his head to two of his men who walked over to Loki and jerked him up so he was standing. "We both know from your past history that you won't give into torture but maybe if I let my boys take turns with your lover… you will change your mind?" 

No matter what Tony thought of him, it was hard to see Loki like this, broken down and helpless. But he showed none of that emotion on his face. "He doesn't know anything. And between you and me, he isn't that great of a lay."

Loki was trying to hold his tongue in this situation but it was hard when he was dealing with such idiots. "I'm just fucking him for his money. Hurting me will achieve nothing," Loki said scathingly down at Tony, but he cried out when his hair was suddenly yanked back by one of the men.

"I guess we shall just have to see about that," Doom threatened. "I'll let them do whatever they want to him if you don't cooperate... except mar his face. It would be a shame to destroy something that pretty, after all." 

"Yeah, I guess it would," Tony pretended to consider it. Finally, he rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll tell you.”

The idiots holding Loki up looked far too disappointed at Tony's words. Doom smiled at Tony. "I didn't think you would cooperate so soon. He must be better in bed than you let on."

"I have a lot of money," Tony shrugged with an arrogant, hateful smirk. 

"All right then, what's the password?" Doom asked and when Tony didn't answer quick enough one of the men holding Loki suddenly punched him in the stomach and Loki felt all the air leave his lungs in a whoosh.

Tony watched it happen while not changing his already expressionless expression. He didn't want to give them the satisfaction. "Black Sabbath 2000," he told them. 

Doom smiled and then frowned suddenly. “That’s it?” he asked, irritated. Tony just shrugged. Doom left the room in a huff after signaling for his men to do the same. The men dropped Loki and he fell to the floor, glaring at them as they left but not saying anything until the door was shut. 

"You should have just let them have me," he said when he was sure they were alone.

Tony turned to glare at Loki, who was disheveled and hurting, the pride stripped right out of him. "Don't say that, because I'll do it in a heartbeat," he threatened. 

Loki shrugged as if he didn't care. His body had never been raped but his mind had and he thought that was far worse. "There are far worse fates," he said unconsciously shivering at his memory of his time with The Other. 

"You sound like you've been through it," Tony said, sneaking a quick sideways glance towards him.

"I know I don't look appear to be, but I have been alive for a long time and have experienced more than you could possibly imagine," Loki said simply. He looked up at the vent when it seemed the heat had been turned on. "Why are they turning on the heat? It's already too hot in here." 

Tony knew that much was true. "To torment us," he sighed, and in frustration, he practically threw his t-shirt off his back, getting it tangled at his wrists where they were bound by metal and magic. 

"Of course," Loki said trying not to pant. He had never done well under extreme heat. Now, he knew it was because he was a Jotun. Somehow, without his magic he seemed to have even less of a tolerance. He pushed himself into a corner as far away from Stark as he could get. 

Tony thought that was rather strange. "What's wrong? You gonna melt?" he narrowed his eyes at him in confusion. "It's not that bad."

"Shut up!" Loki hissed trying to concentrate on getting his body under control, but his panic only made it worse. He felt similar to how he felt before he touched the Casket of Winters or before that Jotun touched his skin… he knew his body was going to betray him. So he pulled his knees up to his bare chest and hoped Stark wouldn't notice. He buried his face in his knees and tried to think about something other than the heat.

When Loki did not answer him and recoiled into himself, Tony became concerned. He scooted closer to where the demi-god had cornered himself. "What the... what's going on? Are you hurt?" he asked, not understanding. But he did see, even with the dim light of the room, his skin shifting color...

"Be silent," Loki growled, but he did not lift his head. He felt his body tingle as it tinted out to its natural blue color. "Leave me alone."

Tony chose to ignore him. "You're... blue," he mused, watching the pigment rise over him. It made him look more animal than human, but it was beautiful. Tony was instantly fascinated. "Does it hurt?" he asked gently. 

Loki growled and looked up to glare at Tony, his now crimson eyes glowing in the dim late. "What part of leave me alone do you not understand?" He could feel the ancient runes appear on his skin and he knew he looked just like the monsters he had been taught to fear. 

Tony finally backed off, but he did not move from where he sat. "Just think it looks cool, is all," he shrugged. 

That made Loki pause and he looked down at his own skin, trying to see what Tony saw, before looking away in distaste. "It's disgusting, don't look at me."

"It's not disgusting," Tony told him genuinely, knowing that everyone else had probably told him it was unnatural and wrong. He knew he had been brainwashed. "Like I said, I think it's cool." 

Loki looked back at Tony as if he were trying to judge his sincerity. When he saw that Tony was not lying to him he said, "It's because of the heat. I was adopted from a race that looks like this, but they are giants."

"Huh. Well, don't let anyone call you a freak," Tony insisted, and he sounded like someone who knew what it was like. "I think it's nice," he tried to tell him again awkwardly.

"I… well... thank you," Loki stuttered, unsure of what to say. He relaxed somewhat from his curled up position. 

"It's very... beautiful," Tony shrugged, still trying to explain because for whatever reason, it was important to him. "The shade of blue. I can't really see it real well, but it suits you," he smirked. 

Loki put his hands out in front of him to look at his own arms, once again trying to see what Tony saw. "I haven't really actually looked at myself before... when I was like this." 

"Well, maybe you should. When we get out of here. I gave them a wrong password. It will alert JARVIS of out whereabouts and set off an alarm to the others," Tony explained.   
"We don't have much time before they figure it out, if they haven't already." 

"Thor can't see me like this," Loki suddenly panicked. He stood up and began to pace frantically. "How long do we have?"

Tony continued to sit where he was and watched Loki pace like the caged animal that he was. "Hey, calm down. Why can't he see you like this? He knows who you are," he assumed.

"Yes, but he's not actually seen me like this," Loki admitted. "We were taught that the Jotun were monsters. I don't want him to see." 

"Well, if I was fucking you-" Tony began, but stopped the instant he realized what he was about to say. If he was fucking him, he'd have no problem with him being blue. "I mean, whatever. We have to think about more important things than what color you are. They're going to be pissed when they get back."

"The humans…" Loki started, but then he thought of something. Odin contained his magic but there was no way he could restrict his skin color. He suddenly got down on his knees to touch the floor, concentrating on turning it to ice like he had seen the Jotun do in battle. "I may not be as useless as I thought. I’ve seen a warrior skin turn frost bitten from just the brush of a Jotun's touch and..." he said with a smile as the floor under his fingertips started to ice over despite the heat. "I can do this."

Tony sat up when he saw Loki's magic and not for the first time. "What are we gonna do, freeze ourselves to death then?" he growled in frustration. They were running out of time.

Loki rolled his eyes and concentrated on shaping the ice until it was knife shaped and very sharp. He slid the weapon over to Tony. "Do you think you can handle a weapon that isn't run by a machine?" 

Tony gingerly took the ice sword. "What's that supposed to mean? We can't get out of here with this," he argued.

"I thought you had more imagination than that, Anthony," Loki smirked and turned towards his chains. They froze over and shattered under the pressure of the ice. 

Tony was admittedly impressed by that. "Do me! Do me!" he cried like a child, feeling trapped when his fellow prisoner had already freed himself.

Loki laughed and came over to Tony, gripping the other man's chains. Before he released his ice, he paused. "I don't know… I like seeing you tied up," he teased. 

Tony rubbed his aching (and cold) wrists. "Kinky," he teased right back, allowing a sly smirk to cross his face only briefly enough to not allow it to be flirting. "What's your plan now, Houdini?" 

"I'm going to freeze the lock and hope it shatters enough that we can open the door," Loki said when the sound of thunder roared. "Or we just sit back and let my brother's wrath take care of our kidnappers."

"I like the first idea," Tony decided, rubbing his sore wrists after Loki released him. "That dude loves his hammer." 

Loki touched the door’s handle and froze it until it shattered. He pushed it open to let in some cool air and his blue skin faded back to its usual pale. 

Tony grabbed his shirt, got up, and stormed out of the cell. "Shame. The blue was hot," he said as he rushed by him, because what did he have to lose? He liked the way it seemed to bother and shock Loki, who was usually as composed and sure of himself as a big cat. 

Loki watched Tony's ass as he walked by. He pretended not to be thrown off by that unexpected comment. "Only you would be turned on by something so freakish." 

"Never said I was turned-" he began defensively when the rest of the team came bombarding into the room. "About time!" he shouted.

The others came into view and Loki stopped at the look on Thor's face. He didn't understand the anger directed at him at the moment but he knew better than to engage.

"Tony! Are you all right?" Steve asked worriedly. 

Tony seemed surprised by the question. "Of course. I'm fine. I gave them the wrong password which activated an emergency setting," he explained as he dusted himself off. 

"We were worried," Steve shrugged, looking over at Loki and eying him suspiciously.

Tony watched their distrustful gazes and watched Loki practically recoil under Thor's glare. "Because of him? He's the one that got us out of here, admittedly," he told them honestly.

Thor was suddenly right in front of Loki, reaching out to grab him by the neck and slamming him against the wall. "Every time I give you another chance, you ruin it," he roared into Loki's face, but Loki could barely breathe much less explain himself. 

Tony quickly interrupted. "Hey, hey! I told you, he didn't do anything to put us here! I was there the whole time, this... this ‘Dr. Doom’ guy stole him out of his bed," he insisted.

"Tony, there was no one here by the time we arrived. It was all a little suspicious,” Steve said. 

Tony shook his head. "No, I know what happened. Even if you don't believe him, you'll believe me when I tell you I saw the people that took us. They threatened to rape him," he pointed out. 

"You have been taken by Loki's tricks," Thor sighed. 

Tony tensed with frustration. "No, I know his tricks. I don't really trust him either. But this time, it was someone else." 

Thor's grip loosens enough for Loki to breathe and consider his options. If he tried to convince Thor that he is innocent, Thor will think he is lying and put that painful muzzle back on him again. But if he confessed, he could get a lighter punishment. "You’re right, Thor. It was all me. I hired those men to kidnap me if you took me back to the mansion. Stark was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." 

Tony was silent for a moment, not understanding why Loki was admitting to something he didn’t do. "Oh come on, stop lying!" he shouted. "For whatever reason, he isn't telling you the truth." 

"I'm sorry, brother, please forgive me. The arrangements were made before we made up," Loki tried to say, but Thor suddenly pulled him close by the back of the neck and he gasped.

"I'll fly him back to the mansion. We need some time alone," Thor spoke to the others, but did not wait before walking out of the room with Loki trailing behind.

Tony realized then that no one was more stubborn than a demi god, and there was no convincing them. "What about Dr. Doom?" he demanded of the others. "He isn't done." Maybe they could at least agree on that, even though they thought Loki hired him. 

"Maybe JARVIS had some recorded footage of the break in," Bruce suggested. "We can go from there."

Tony nodded, running his hand through his hair stressfully. "Alright, that's good. Then you'll see I'm not an idiot. I know what I saw," he argued. 

***

Back at the mansion, Bruce stayed with Tony while they went through the surveillance footage. Thor and Loki hadn't been seen since they flew off, but JARVIS had informed the team that they were both in their designated rooms.

"Why lie? Even if he didn't know the kidnappers, why would Loki lie? What was the point?" Bruce asked.

Tony concentrated hard on the footage in front of him that would prove him right. "Because he's scared of his brother. Thor did something to shake him up pretty bad in the past and I think he knows Thor isn't going to believe the truth."

"Well, cutting that thread from his lips after Thor used the muzzle was pretty horrific." Bruce said admittedly while watching the footage over Tony's shoulder. 

On the screen, Tony was hit by the dart and passed out almost immediately. Loki tried to rush to Tony's side but was stopped by Doom who had a hand around his neck.

"That certainly isn't a reaction I would have predicted for our resident mischief maker," Bruce said.

Tony nodded. "No. And I was passed out. There was no reason to keep up appearances except for JARVIS, who was turned off." 

"And I'm sure he wouldn't have kept fighting like that if it was all a con.” Bruce winced when Loki got backhanded again. "Good thing he is a god. Some of those hits would have killed a human." 

"He's much more powerful than I think even he realizes," Tony told him, remembering the way his skin turned blue. "I need to talk to him." 

"Thor has him locked in his room. I doubt he wants him to have any visitors."

Tony shrugged. "I don't really care what Thor wants. And this proves that we have a real enemy at hand," he pointed out as rushed out of the room. 

"Be careful!" Bruce yelled to deaf ears. He shook his head as he watched Tony go.


	8. Chapter 8

Loki sat on the floor of his bedroom with his back against the wall. He stared at the door like he was willing it to open itself out of old habit. He didn’t dare pick the lock. He would not risk his brother's anger if he did.

By the time Tony reached Loki's bedroom, he could actually feel his energy through the door. It was almost enough to physically push him away, but Tony stood against it like it was a rising wave and approached it stubbornly. He pressed his ear to the door but heard nothing. 

Finally, he knocked. "Hey, kid," he tried, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Can I come in?"

Loki was surprised by the sound of Tony's voice. "I am over 1,000 years old, I am no 'kid'," he responded snarkily but he did not move from his spot on the floor, the same exact place Thor had deposited him earlier and told him not to move a muscle. For once, Loki had listened. "You can come in," he added quickly, not wanting to drive Tony away. 

Tony quickly told JARVIS to unlock the door and quietly walked in, shutting it behind him. He sat down next to Loki, facing him, and said nothing for a few moments. "You don't have to sit in time-out all night."

Loki growled at Tony, but still did not move. "What do you want, Stark?" 

"I just want to know why you lied and let your brother walk all over you," Tony told him bluntly.

Loki sneered at him before his sneer turned quickly into a frown. "It's complicated."

Tony pretended to check his watch. "I have time," he shrugged. "This Dr. Doom is a real danger and you lying isn't helping anyone." 

"If I would have told the truth, Thor would not have believed me and the punishment would have been far more severe than having to sit here being bored," Loki said sullenly. And, he had discovered, that the spell that bound him to the truth with his brother hadn’t stopped him. He was beginning to think Odin’s grip on him was slipping. "I'm sure Doom will appear again soon."

"Well, the surveillance tape will prove you’re innocent. You need to stand up for yourself," Tony said.

"Let me see that device on your arm," Loki suddenly demanded, wanting to abruptly change the subject and get a better look at Tony's watch.

Tony was confused and it took a moment for him to realize what he meant. "This? This is a watch, dummie," he teased, though there was an odd sense of affection in his tone. 

"I want it," Loki said, reaching out for it, but Tony was just out of his arms reach. He wanted the watch, but he still did not dare move. "Give it to me." 

Tony laughed. "What, are you kidding me? I'm not going to just give you my watch because you asked. You know how valuable it is?" he snorted, holding his wrist close to his chest. 

"I know you are wealthy, Anthony," Loki sighed with narrowed eyes. "Give it to me. I want to take it apart and see how it works."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, it's very simple. I can tell you how it works without you completely destroying my stuff.” 

Loki pouted and wrapped his arms around himself. Tony rolled his eyes and huffed with frustration. "Oh, so you're gonna be a big baby now?"

"You will get bored soon and leave me in here to rot. I want something to entertain myself," Loki explained, still pouting.

"If you're not boring, I won't get bored," Tony shrugged, and then decided to ask another blunt question. "Why do you fuck your brother?"

"It is not an uncommon occurrence of Asgard," Loki defended, even though it was obvious the question made him uncomfortable.

Tony decided to leave it at that. It really wasn't any of his business, anyway. "Thanks, by the way. For getting us out of there. I know you had nothing to do with any of it," he said a little awkwardly.

"Give me your watch and we will call it even," Loki said with a smirk.

"Absolutely not. You can buy your own watch. And don't even think about stealing this, I don't take it off," Tony warned, holding his wrist close to his chest again. "It was my fathers.”

"He gave it to you?" Loki asked curiously. "How did he die?"

"Well, he didn't give it to me. I took it when he died. In a plane crash," Tony admitted, keeping all emotion out of his tone. He knew there was far more to tell about his parent’s death. None of it was accidental. He knew that now, but left that part out. 

"I don't understand the sentimentality of keep a dead persons things. It won't bring them back," Loki looked down at the watch curiously.

"No, but it's a nice watch. I always wanted it," Tony said.

Loki snorted at that. "You are a horrible liar."

Tony stopped fiddling with his wrist and gave him a curious glare. "Oh really? What am I hiding, then? Just because I don't lie professionally like some people..." he provoked.

"I lie to get things done... I wouldn't call myself a professional," Loki responded with a grin.

"But you're good at it," Tony smiled back, wondering if Loki would think it was a compliment.

"I've had a lot of practice... I am still shocked you didn't just let those men have me," Loki said, changing the subject yet again. 

Tony shrugged it off. "We are a team. And you were right, keeping up appearances was important, lover," he teased, hoping to embarrass him. 

"Just one kiss and I'm your lover? That's very presumptuous of you."

Tony had not forgotten about that. "Hey, I thought you were a girl! A girl I didn't know! You were the one to seduce me!"

"Yes, well, it wasn't exactly hard. You are easily seduced," Loki smirked.

Tony glared at him. He hesitated before he said, "Well, you make a very beautiful woman, and I was weak.”

"Yes, humans in general seem to be a weak species."

"Hey, I resent that. I'm not an average human," Tony argued. "I'm a genius, remember?" 

"I won't deny that you have superior intelligence but you waste it with drink and women.” 

"I don't waste it. You've seen my lab," Tony insisted, because it was all fun and games until Loki hit a nerve. 

Ah, but it was so interesting to see what Stark took seriously and what he did not. While he was distracted, Loki suddenly lunged forward to snatch the watch off of Tony's wrist with hardly any effort. Tony's jaw dropped in surprise. "Hey! You little thief!" he shouted, surging forward and knocking Loki down onto his back, accidentally falling on top of him. He had to think quickly if he was going to trick the god of mischief. He had to think fast. 

So he did the most natural thing in the world and landed his lips hard on his. The kiss shocked Tony just as much as it shocked Loki, and his shaking hand snatched the watch away immediately. 

Tony pulled back immediately and tried to busy himself with refastening his watch onto his shaking wrist. He tried not to lick his wet lips, to taste Loki there… "It- it was just a way to get back my watch," he rushed stupidly, refusing to look at Loki while he waited for him to say something, anything. 

"Liar," Loki told him again, right before he pulled Tony back to him and kissed him firmly. 

Tony was just as shocked by the second kiss as he was by the first, but this time, he pressed into Loki and kissed him back as if he had been holding his breath for this exact moment for a long time. His rough, calloused hand reached out to grasp his side, holding Loki to him. This was different than their first kiss... Loki was not trying to impersonate someone he wasn't. 

Loki kissed Tony in a hesitant, shy way, but his hand came up to thread his fingers gently through his short, dark hair as if he were scared to touch him without hurting him. He did not want to hurt him. He had never kissed a human before. 

Tony pushed against him until his back collided a bit hard with the wall. He was disappointed when he knew that from this position, he would not know what it felt like to be on top of him. But he could not stop to think. He was afraid of what he might do if he realized what he was doing. He was surprised at how gentle Loki's kiss was, how unsure and beautiful it was. Loki moaned and his body began to relax and sag against the wall. 

When Tony pulled back, he did it abruptly. His mouth still parted, he gave Loki a serious look of confusion in the dim room. He was slightly out of breath. "Why did you let me do that?" he demanded. 

"Because I wanted you to," Loki told him honestly, staring at the other man’s lips. 

Tony was surprised by that answer. It only raised more. "Oh," was all he said stupidly, right before he lunged forward to land his lips on his again. 

Loki grinned and pulled is long legs under him so he could get the leverage to push up onto his knees and get more body contact with Tony. Tony responded by grabbing Loki's thighs, pushing them hard against his until their chests heaved against one another. His tongue battled with his, torturing himself. 

This rougher treatment was something Loki was used too and it surprised him when it came from a human. And yet it was not like the way Thor handled him. There was gentleness in Tony’s demanding tongue, his hot, impatient hands. Finally, Loki pulled away and leaned his forehead against Tony's. 

"This is leading to dangerous territory. We should probably stop before we go too far."

Tony pulled back immediately as if Loki's words snapped him out of something. "Fine, fine," he stuttered nervously, clearing his throat awkwardly and looking away. "I don't know why it would be dangerous, though," he muttered. 

"You've met my brother but you have never experienced his wrath," Loki said gently, but his hands were reluctant to let Tony go just yet. One of his palms traveled down Tony's chest until it ghosted over the blue light of the arc reactor. 

Tony pulled farther of Loki's reach immediately. He was almost shaking with the realization of what had just happened, what he had wanted to happen, as if the other man’s hand over his heart shocked him awake. "He doesn't own you, you know. And what you have with him isn't real," he said suddenly. 

Loki forced himself not to get angry, thinking that was what Tony was trying to do. "I can do what I want," he said softly. 

"Well then why are you afraid of him finding out?" Tony challenged, trying to keep his own anger and frustration at bay. All he wanted to do then was throw Loki onto his back and taste him again.

Loki knew he didn’t have a good answer for that. So instead, he pushed Tony onto his back and immediately climbed on top of him to resume attempting to map his mouth with his tongue. Tony made a startled, high pitched noise of surprise. Once again, instinct took over, and Tony’s shaking hands snaked up Loki's shirt to feel his flat, narrow torso and kiss him back fiercely. 

Loki left his lips to kiss down Tony's neck. "I am enjoying this…" he admitted breathlessly, "…having you writhing underneath me." 

That brought Tony to roll over and put Loki onto his back until their positions had switched. "Who says you get to lead?" he challenged, his voice rough with hurried lust.   
Loki smirked and willingly spread his legs around Tony's hips. "I always lead, even from this position."

Tony was speechless when his hips collided with his in a different, more intimate way. It sent a delicious friction up his spine. "Maybe we should move this to the bed," he suggested roughly.

"Not so fast, Iron Man. Contrary to what you may believe, I'm not that easy," Loki said with a smile.

Taking that as another rejection, Tony pulled himself off of Loki’s body. "Oh, so you're gonna play hard to get now? Fine. You can amuse yourself tonight," he decided, dusting himself off and ignoring the obvious erection that was pressing hard against his jeans. 

Loki huffed and sat up on his elbows to glare at Tony. "You’re just going to leave... after all that?"

Tony straightened up his clothes and composure and looked down at Loki. "Well, it's clear you aren't going to play fair, and I'm not even sure you really want this," he provoked, though there was some truth to it. 

"Your body's response to me says otherwise,” Loki pointed down to Tony's crotch with his eyes. 

This time, Tony owned up to the painful erection bulging in his jeans. "Yeah, you do seem to have that weird effect on me... but nothing I can't take care of myself.”

Loki didn’t understand. "Maybe another time, perhaps?" he asked.

Tony glared down at Loki. Loki didn't really want him. It was only some way to control him. It was just… boredom, maybe? "Why? So you can get back at your brother?" he accused.

Loki stood up with one graceful movement and towered over Tony. "I never said that. I am fascinated by you, Anthony Stark," he admitted just as angrily. 

Tony blinked nervously and he tried not to be obvious when he tried to stand taller on his toes. "Yeah, you never said it, but it doesn't mean I'm going to just believe you," he challenged.

Loki cupped Tony's face and tilted it up. "I don't kiss people I don't like, Anthony."

Tony swallowed as he looked up at him. "Then why do you have to play games with me, hmm?"

"I like games, but this is no game. I'm learning to look before I leap. It is not something I have practiced in the past."

"Fine. But you missed your chance. Better luck next time, baby," Tony shrugged, stepping out of Loki’s hands and still using the trickster’s own medicine against him. After all, they both couldn't play hard to get, and he had never been told to stop before. 

"That's not fair," Loki whined. "I'm stuck in this room… you must stay and entertain me."

Tony gave him a strange look. "I'm not your toy," he said clearly. Tony Stark was no one's dancing monkey.

"Of course not, you're a human," Loki said with a teasing smile.

"I'm not your human toy," Tony corrected. "So if that's what you want, I need to leave."

Loki reached out to stop him from going far. The touch on Tony’s arm seemed to subdue them both. "Don't go. I liked kissing you. We should do more of that," he said, leaning forward to gently nip at Tony's earlobe. 

He wondered how long they were going to dance around each other until something happened again, something they both wanted to happen but were too afraid of it. The touch of teeth on Tony’s ear was all it took. Tony grabbed Loki by the hips and brought him close and into a kiss, his tongue colliding against his and giving up on all his hesitation. He was aware that today was the first time he had ever knowingly kissed another man, and he was aware of how quickly he accepted it... but in this moment, it was impossible for him to care. 

Loki cupped Tony's face again gently with his hands. Tony moaned into his mouth, feeling it vibrate through his own body. Not wanting to be blunt with suggestions of a bed again and terribly afraid of Loki refraining, he continued to kiss him and waited for Loki to be the one to make the next move.

Loki pulled back to look Tony in his dark, beautiful eyes before he fell smoothly to his knees. He wanted to keep Tony interested and he knew that if he didn't give the human something he would leave him to his boredom. He lifted Tony's shirt to swirl his tongue into the human’s belly button and over the well-trimmed, dark hair that led below his waistline. His deft fingers unbuttoned his jeans. 

Tony was so startled that he allowed all of it to happen. "What- what are you doing?" he whispered quickly when he finally found his voice.

"I'm entertaining you," Loki said with a smirk before he jerked Tony's trousers down.

Tony fought the urge to push away out of fear of actually going through with what he had only fantasized. He looked down at Loki then and decided that he would regret it more if he did push away. "Oh... entertain away," he smirked a little breathlessly. 

"If you make any jokes about me kneeling... I will bite this off," Loki warned, giving Tony's cock a little lick with the tip of his tongue. 

Tony gasped, his cock solid and embarrassingly hard. The slight touch of his tongue was not enough. "Fuck… I don't think you would," he provoked further, if only to distract himself.

Loki licked a slow, long stripe up Tony's cock and Tony felt himself shiver violently and his body began to sweat. "I've done it before. You have a large cock compared to your body size," he observed.

Tony felt himself twitch against Loki's tongue and weep pre-come. He was barely listening. "God..." he exhaled, realizing that yes, a demi-god really was on his knees for him. “…Wait, what do you mean body size?”

"You are short," Loki said bluntly, and Tony was about to argue just when he swallowed down his cock and Tony cried out from surprise when suddenly his need was enveloped in the wet heat of his expert mouth. 

"Fuck," he hissed, holding back from thrusting. Feeling like he was going to collapse, he pressed his palm in front of him against the wall in a feeble attempt to hold himself up.

Loki moaned and let go of Tony's hips, giving him free reign of his mouth. Tony buried his free hand in Loki's black hair and thrust gently, experimentally. He leaned his sweating forehead against the back of his hand, his palm flat against the wall as he grunted and made another experimental thrust forward. Loki grabbed Tony’s ass to encourage him not to be careful. 

Until then, Tony had been trying hard not to overwhelm Loki, to hurt him, to give him more than what he wanted. But Loki wanted it and he wanted him to lose control, and he finally gave up trying to hold himself back and began to thrust so deep into Loki's mouth that he felt the tip of his cock collide with the back of his throat. The softest gagging sound reached Tony’s ears and he felt his resolve slip close to orgasm…

Loki's grip on Tony's ass only tightened and he hummed around Tony's cock. When his fingers ran up and down the cleft of Tony's ass teasingly, that was when he lost control. Tightening his grip on Loki's hair, Tony thrust into his mouth once more, roughly, and came so hard down his throat that he almost fell to the ground in his dizziness. His knees buckled, but he caught himself before he could collapse. His cock throbbed as his orgasm ripped him apart.

Loki helped hold Tony up easily. He let his cock slip out of his mouth but he continued to kiss and nibble at Tony's stomach. Tony's knees finally went weak, but he did not fall because of Loki holding him up. "I- I've never come that fast," he apologized embarrassingly.

"I usually have that effect on people," Loki said cockily.

Tony tried pathetically to laugh. "Oh, so I'm just... just a notch on your bedpost?" he asked breathlessly, his eyes still closed and still boneless in Loki's arms. 

"You’re one to talk about notches," he said as he helped pull Tony's pants back up. He ignored his own need. There would be time for that later. He began to stand up   
between Tony and the wall.

As soon as Loki was within kissing distance, Tony pushed him against the wall and used whatever strength he had left to slam his lips against his, kissing him hard and tasting himself on his tongue. Loki grunted in surprise. 

Tony broke the kiss and leaned heavily against him. "Is that it, then? Have you put me under one of your childish spells? What do you want from me?" he rambled, quite delirious after what had been the best orgasm of his life. 

Loki looked at Tony with confusion. "You think I put you under a spell? What would be the point in that?" he said, pushing Tony away from him. 

Tony pulled him back to him quickly. "I'm sorry. I'm just confused," he admitted quickly, hoping he would understand. "I just don't..." he tried again, but couldn't put how he felt into words. 

Loki was quiet for a moment until he reached up to run a tentative hand through Tony's hair and hugged him closer. "I am a bit out of my depth here as well."

Tony reached his hand between them to palm Loki's erection that was still confined in his sweatpants. He wanted to make sure this was real. Loki moaned and thrust into his grip. "Find what you were looking for? Still think it’s a spell?"

"I don't know. I think I'll need some further experimenting to be sure," Tony teased, his hand fumbling to dive past the waistline to grasp his cock. For a moment, he wasn't sure what he should do next. It wasn't like him not to be confident. It confused him just as much as it intrigued him. 

"You don't have to," Loki said, mistaking Tony's hesitance for uneasiness. 

Tony wrapped his hand more firmly around Loki and gave him an experimental stroke. "I want to. But the only cock I'm used to touching is my own," he admitted, feeling for the first time in his life inexperienced and incapable. 

Loki inhaled sharply when Tony's fingers stroked him. "How dull life must have been for you."

Dull? His life was anything but dull, thank you. "Just because you're the only man I've ever wanted to fuck?" Tony asked, but did not allow Loki to respond. Instead, he kissed him again and began to stroke him a bit more confidently. 

Loki liked the sound of that, of being someone's first. He moaned into the kiss and pulled Tony closer to him, watching as the human broke the kiss and removed his hand only long enough to spit in his palm and return it back to Loki slick and ready to stroke him harder. "Feel good?" Tony asked, though he wasn't saying it to talk dirty. He was genuinely asking. 

Loki leaned his forehead against Tony's so that they were breathing the same air. "Yes, I like you touching me," he whispered. 

Tony stroked him faster, wondering if this was enough, and not knowing why it was so important to him that he watch Loki lose control. He briefly considered the possibility that Loki was allowing all of this because he wanted to blackmail Tony... but the weight of him in his hand, the pre-come leaking from his cock was enough for him to believe him, if only for this moment. 

A few moments of messy jerking off later, Loki moaned with the wave of orgasm approaching closer. He just needed that extra push. "Fingers... put your fingers inside me," he demanded, not thinking that Tony might not understand the wetness he would find there.

Tony wasted no time before his hand left Loki's cock and he practically tore his pants down to his hips. He hastily sucked two of his own fingers, wetting them in a hurry before they slipped between his cheeks and pressed against his entrance. Tony kissed him while his fingers circled his hole and sank into him. They slid in easily, though the tightness still overwhelmed him. 

And he was... wet. Prepared. His body was actually begging for more. Tony pulled back and studied him as if his expression would give him answers, but his fingers moved out of their own violation. 

"It's an alien thing," Loki tried to explain, but it was too hard to concentrate. 

"It's an alien thing to get wet like a girl?" Tony teased, though he wasn't complaining. There was something undeniably and unbelievably hot about the whole thing, as wrong as it was. It almost made his exhausted and overwhelmed body stir with new arousal. He moved his fingers easily.

"I'm not... a girl..." Loki tried to say, and when Tony’s fingers impaled him deeper and accidently collided against that tight bundle of nerves, he felt his body clamping down and coming onto Tony's chest. He pulled Tony to him and kissed him hard in an attempt not to scream.

Fascinated, Tony continued to press his fingers against the spot inside of Loki that seemed to make him shiver. "No, but you are amazingly sensitive here…"

Loki's eyes rolled back into his head as Tony kept massaging his prostrate throughout his orgasm. "Too much," he slurred even as his body felt it was gearing up for another orgasm.

Tony stopped immediately and reluctantly withdrew his fingers. He kissed him slowly, still tasting hints of his own bitterness on his tongue. "You came just from me fingering you?"

That got a short laugh out of Loki. "Well... they were very talented fingers." 

Tony laughed. "I like you," he finally admitted, still blissed out from his own orgasm. Leaning heavily against him, he nuzzled him affectionately. "But I think we should keep this between us.”

Loki smiled and kissed him gently on the lips. "Whatever you want," he agreed easily because it was what he wanted as well. He didn't want his new lover to be beat to a pulp by his over bearing older brother. 

Tony was glad they were on the same page for that. "I don't want him touching you again," he admitted. He knew Loki would know who he meant. "I don't share."

Loki had not been expecting Tony to say that. Humans were such interesting creatures. "I will try," he tried to promise, but he had never been very good at saying no to Thor, even if he would be lucky if Thor ever acknowledged his presence ever again after today’s events.

"Try?" Tony asked, his tone insinuating that it was not enough. "I told you. I don't share. It's me or him."

"You are not exactly known for your monogamous relationships, Anthony," Loki pointed out to him with irritation.

Tony pinned Loki's wrists to the wall above his head. "Yes, but I told you. I like you," he repeated, as though that was the only explanation he needed. 

Loki's sensitive cock rubbed up against Tony's jeans and he groaned. "I won't sleep with Thor while I am on Midgard," he promised in a heavy mumble.

Tony didn't really understand what that meant, but he smiled anyway and accepted it. "I should go," he told him suddenly, because he couldn't remember a single time he had a sexual encounter and lingered. He let go of Loki and took a step back.

Loki was not happy with that. "You don't have to rush off." 

For the first time in his life, except with Pepper, Tony actually did not want to go… but all the more reason why he should. "Well, I can't stay here," he said as if that should be obvious.

"Of course, you're right," Loki sighed and lazily kissed Tony's neck. "Will you come back to visit me?" 

"When?" Tony asked right away, answering his question. 

"As soon as you can," Loki told him huskily. 

Tony could not believe he was still here, just a step away from Loki, his knees still shaking and his heart still pounding. "You want more already?" he challenged, closing the distance between them just to view his reaction. 

"I think I will always want more with you," Loki smirked. "But you’re right. We are pushing our luck already. I'm surprised no one has noticed you missing or come to check on me."

Tony chuckled at that. Thank god they hadn't. He was incapable of explaining this even to himself, let alone the others. They would stop trusting him. Nothing good could come from it. "Alright. I'll go," he agreed, but before he turned to leave, he leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "But next time, it will be more than my fingers inside you." 

Loki's breath hitched but his voice was steady when he said, "We shall see." 

Tony smiled at the challenge and softly patted Loki’s round rump just before he turned towards the door. "See ya later, Princess," he teased as he walked out of the room as steadily and as quietly as he could.

Loki watched him go, still continually surprised at the human. 

"What have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself when Tony had left. 

"Something you are probably not capable of handling," J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice filtered through and Loki glared up at the ceiling.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Thor went to check on Loki with a tray of breakfast and coffee in his hands. He spent all night contemplating whether he believed Loki really had nothing to do with the earlier kidnapping. If he didn't, it meant they had something much larger to deal with… and they just could not afford to wait around and find out.

Thor unlocked and entered the door to find Loki still curled up in bed. He brought the food over to him and sat on the edge of the mattress, looking down at his brother with a conflicted expression. "We are all having a meeting later this afternoon, followed by dinner. I would like it if you came," he asked him softly.

Loki just rolled over to stare up at Thor, his hair sticking up at all angles. "Why would you want me to do that?" he asked, eyeing the food as if Thor had drugged it. 

Thor nudged the eggs and bacon closer to him. "Because you are still a part of this team. I'm not sure if you betrayed us or not, but if you didn't, we are all in even bigger trouble," he mumbled, not meeting Loki's eyes. He was afraid it would hurt too much if he did.

"Just because you say I am part of this team does not make it so. The others certainly don't think so," Loki huffed, but then he thought of Tony's lips on his. 

"Listen, stop sulking like a child and learn to know what's good for you," Thor sighed, not really caring if Loki decided to argue more or not. "I know father cast a sort of spell on you... that you can only tell the truth to me... is that still in effect?" he asked down to the bed sheets.

Loki growled, not liking the reminder. "I… I think it only works if you ask something directly," he reluctantly admitted.

Thor finally looked Loki in his impossibly blue eyes. "Did you help plan or plan the kidnapping?" he asked outright.

Loki gritted his teeth but was forced to answer. "No... I didn’t think you would believe me if I told the truth and you would make me wear the muzzle again." 

Thor didn't know whether to be relieved or not. "I should put the muzzle on you for lying. This is serious, Loki! This man that kidnapped you, if he even if a man, is very dangerous!" he tried not to shout.

"You were too angry with me! I cannot talk to you when you are like that. You would have muzzled me in front of everyone!" Loki snapped.

Thor seemed desperate then to soothe him. "I wouldn't have. Not after what happened last time. I will never put the muzzle back on you," he admitted.

"I don't believe you," Loki told him, but he could not look him in the eyes when he said it. 

"Fine. You don't have to. But you have no reason not to trust me," Thor sighed. 

"I know. It was extremely embarrassing being kidnapped by humans with no means of defending myself," Loki mumbled. 

Thor ignored that. He was not going to pity him any longer. "Are you sure they were human? Their leader- is he human?"

"They were human but the leader yielded magic," Loki explained. "But he was a novice as he did not sense my magic."

Thor nodded. "These things can be discussing at the meeting. I do not wish to lock you in this room any longer. You can go as you please," he promised him.   
Loki looked surprised at that. "All right,” he said after a short pause.

Thor nudged his food even closer. "You should nourish yourself," he said, and bravely leaned forward to plant a kiss on Loki's forehead. 

Loki nodded, enjoying the attention and picked up a piece of toast to nibble on it. It reminded him of when they were children and Loki would get ill and Thor would worry over him. "What else is this meeting about?" 

"What we should do about this so called 'Dr. Doom'," Thor answered, secretly thrilling over the fact that Loki had not only allowed the kiss, but enjoyed it. 

"He must have a master… someone who is training him in magic," Loki suggested, taking another bite. 

Thor grabbed a slice of toast for himself and took a much larger bite than his brother had. He leaned over and planted a buttery kiss on Loki's lips. 

"You oaf!" Loki shouted, pushing Thor away and wiping his lips off on his sleeve. 

Thor smirked and stuffed the rest of the bread down his throat. "So you don't want me to kiss you anymore?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Not when you get butter all over my face," he complained.

"Fine," Thor teased, wiping his mouth on a napkin and giving him a butter-free kiss.

Loki pulled away before the kiss could get more heated. "When is this meeting? I'm tired of this room." 

"This afternoon. I will find you beforehand," he told him, seemingly unconcerned anymore about anything other than why Loki pulled away from the kiss. Perhaps it would just take longer for them to forgive one another. Perhaps they never would.

"Shall I just meet you there then? I need a shower," Loki announced, standing up from the bed. 

"Yes. Whatever you wish. May I join you?" Thor asked. "I'll behave, I promise." 

"We both know you can't behave if I am naked," Loki smirked. 

"Well, I can try. Come on," he coaxed him with a smile. 

Loki was never very good at saying no to his brother. "Okay, but just to shower.”

"Alright," Thor agreed halfheartedly, though he did plan on convincing Loki that he needed a little more than a shower. In the bathroom, he began to strip, knowing that his body was irresistible. 

Loki watched him and wondered why his resolve was being tested so soon. He shrugged off his own clothes and turned on the shower, intent on getting through this without throwing himself at Thor. 

Thor had other plans. Exact opposite plans, to be exact. He finished undressing and climbed into the shower, not bothering to look at Loki. He knew how much playing hard to get drove him crazy.

Loki knew he would have to keep them talking so he could concentrate. "Thor, why haven't you gone to see Jane since you came to Midgard?"

Thor slipped his arms around Loki from behind and kissed the back of his neck. "Because I have you," he answered as if it were the simplest answer in the world.

"Thor, I'm not in the mood," Loki protested, but his half hard cock said otherwise.

Thor smirked and kissed him again, just letting his own muscular, hard body rest against his. "Your body is telling me a different story," he teased, though his hands still did not move from where they were wrapped around his waist. 

"Thor... I have to tell you something and I don't want you to get mad but I think I may… like someone," Loki confessed all at once, sounding to his own ears like a young child.

"What? What do you mean, like someone?" asked Thor, not understanding and thereore still not concerned as he kissed him again, this time, on the side of his neck.

Loki hummed happily and tilted his head for Thor to have better access. "I am attracted to someone and they don't want me to be with anyone else." 

"Mmmm," Thor moaned approvingly. "You and me both," he teased, thinking that Loki of course meant himself.

Loki tried to keep himself from pushing back into Thor. "Thor, I mean someone else."

It still took Thor a moment to register what he had said, but when it did, he pulled away from Loki. "I don't believe you."

"Don't get angry," Loki tried to say calmly. "Please, just listen to me for once." 

Thor did say nothing, mostly because his eyes were saying everything as he waited impatiently for Loki to explain himself. 

"I love you, you know this, but I don't think it's... healthy for me to be with you right now. After everything that's happened, after everything we've been through... we need time to just be brothers," Loki tried. 

Thor remained still, his body feeling the warm water down his back. Loki was immensely glad that he was not commanding him to tell him who it was. "I still don't believe you. A human, is it? What would you ever have to do with a human?" Thor challenged.

"He's different... smarter than an average human and he's interesting..." Loki said, stopping himself because he feared he already said too much.

Thor glared at Loki for a moment longer before he turned his back to him and stood under the low hiss of the water. "It won't last," was all he said.

Loki was surprised by the lack of reaction. "Yes, well, humans do not live long."

Thor finished rinsing off and stepped out of the shower, not saying a word. Loki let him go because his usually sharp tongue had nothing else to say. He hoped his brother was as dim as he always thought he was and wouldn’t figure out who Loki had been talking about. Perhaps he did not want to know.

***

Later that afternoon, everyone was gathered in the meeting room as Fury debriefed his Avengers team of misfits on their newest villain. 

"Victor von Doom is a genius with magical abilities. We think those abilities were influenced by this woman," Fury said, clicking on his remote to display a picture of a beautiful blonde woman stepping out of a limousine. "She goes by the name Hela." 

Loki looked up at the picture and paled a little. 

Tony smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "She's hot," he mused out loud. Loki turned to glare at Tony. 

"Hela, in some ways, is Queen of her own Underworld. She is known as the goddess of death. She should not be on Earth," Loki explained. "She is very dangerous and well versed in magic. If she is helping Doom then you are in trouble." 

Tony was surprised to hear this from Loki. "You know her well?" he asked, because he spoke of her as if he did.

"No, not really, we've run into her a few times, haven't we Thor?" Loki smirked because Hela had been the one goddess Thor could never seduce. She had threatened to chop off Thor's cock if he traveled near her domain. 

Thor tried not to think about his personal experiences with Hela. "Yes. She is very dangerous," he admitted. 

"Well then, how do we defeat her?" Captain America asked.

"You can't," Loki said shrugging his shoulders. "Doom is the one causing the trouble. I suggest you go after him. Hela has not been directly involved but if you attack her out right she will be and that will not be good for anyone."

"We defeated you. We can defeat the goddess of the Underworld," Tony teased, though there was some truth to it, he thought. "What does she want?"

"She has followers on Earth. She could just be here for them," Loki said with another shrug of his shoulders.

Tony didn't believe that. "You mean Satanists? You think they summoned her? She has other plans I think... she attacked us," he pointed out.

"Hela didn't attack us, Doom did," Loki argued.

"It seems like you don't want it to be Hela. Friend of yours?" Tony raised one eyebrow.

Fury interrupted before an argument could escalate. "Either way, as soon as Doom makes a move we need to be ready."

Tony sighed and everyone in turn gave Loki a distrusting glare.

***

Later that night, Tony couldn't sleep. He hadn't spoken to Loki all day except for those snide remarks at the meeting and he knew he only had himself to blame for that. But his pride was just as enormous as the demi-god that haunted his dreams, and it took hours before he finally left his lab to walk past his door.   
But he could not make the first move. He couldn't knock. Instead, he listened. 

Loki had been lying on his bed, staring at the picture of Hela that he had stolen. When he heard someone walking in the hall and stopping outside his room, he immediately shoved the picture under his pillow. When the footsteps didn't continue past the door he got up and flung it open. "Are you snooping, Stark?" 

Tony hid his surprise behind a smirk. "Just wanted to see if it was possible to sneak up on you," he lied. 

"It's not," said Loki, grabbing Tony by the shirt and pulling him into the room before slamming the door. 

Tony went along willingly into the room. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. 

"Seducing you," Loki said, pushing him against the door and kissing him hard. 

Oh. Tony was kissing him back before he even realized what he was doing. "You've wanted to do this all day, haven't you?" he teased when he finally was able to pull away. Loki felt overheated against his skin. 

"Yes, it's all I thought about," he confessed, nipping at Tony's lips.

Tony pulled back. "And what about brother dearest?" he asked, because he was not going to be someone's rebound.

"I told him we couldn't have sex right now because I wanted someone else... he was angry but he will get over it. He always does." 

Tony gave him a confused stare. Was he serious? Was Loki that into Tony that he would break off a lifetime long incestuous affair with Thor, someone of his own kind (more or less)? "I don't believe you," Tony stated simply, crossing his arms over his chest. Did Thor know it was him? Their secret may not be a secret any longer.

"I turned him down just hours ago in this very room!" Loki insisted angry. "If you're angry at me for telling him... I had to tell him something. He would not believe I was just turning him down unless there was a reason." 

"Did you want to turn him down?" 

"I..." Loki started, but then stopped. He did not like where this was going. He wanted less arguing and more kissing but this human seemed to like to hear himself talk. "I love my brother, but I am starting to realize that our relationship is not the best for either of us," he admitted. Maybe in a few centuries when Loki had paid for his crimes and Thor was King- maybe then they could be together. But Loki was never good at thinking about the future. He only liked to think of the present, and presently he had a warm human in his bedroom that he wasn't ready to give it up.

Tony decided that it was enough. For now. He wasn't about to turn Loki down when he was practically throwing himself at him, even if he was telling him nothing but lies. Without any warning, Tony roughly pressed Loki against the wall and attacked his mouth in a kiss.

Loki moaned happily. The angle was different, as he wasn't used to kissing someone shorter than him, but it was a nice change. Tony, on the other hand, didn't like the height difference. He loved Loki's long, toned form and his legs- don't even get him started on his legs- but he didn't like the fact that he was taller than him. 

"This time, bed," Tony demanded when he finally broke the kiss and practically dragged Loki over to it.

Loki allowed himself to be led to the bed but as soon as he was there, he pushed Tony down and pinned his hands above his head. "Yes, I like this better, with you beneath me," he said with a grin. He was not entirely joking.

Tony smirked, but his body was tense and poised to take back control and win this power play. "Who says I will be underneath you?" he challenged a little breathlessly, and using the element of surprise, he flipped them over until Loki was on his stomach.

Loki growled at the sudden change in position. "You will always be underneath me, human," he said, but didn't switch their positions.

Tony had to laugh at that. But he didn't want Loki submitting to him and just letting him do what he wanted. He wanted Loki to get what he wanted, too. Tony slipped off from on top of him and lay down on his back with his arms crossed behind his head. "Sometimes I don't know whether to punch you in the face or fuck you… also in the face.”

Loki was startled when Tony pulled away. He turned on his side and nuzzled Tony's neck. "I would prefer the fucking if I get a choice."

"Mmmm," Tony moaned as he wrapped an arm around Loki and moved him to straddle his hips where he was sure the other man would feel his erection through his jeans. He gripped his shortened hair and brought him down into a deep kiss that was strangely intimate.

Loki smiled and pulled away to pull his shirt over his head before reaching down to help Tony out of his. Tony was so distracted that he barely noticed his own shirt being disposed of. His hands automatically reached for Loki, sliding up and down his lean, muscled chest while Loki's own hands were exploring the way the light from the reactor played on his lover’s skin. 

Tony's hands travelled back up Loki’s chest, sliding purposefully across his erect nipples to watch his reaction. "If I'm just a mere mortal, then why do you want me so badly?" he teased, though it was a serious question that he wanted answered.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm determined to find out," Loki said, bending over him to kiss his heaving chest.

Tony's shaking hands fought to wrestle open his own jeans and pull them down, though it was difficult from the angle he was presently in and he ended up growling loudly in frustration. "Easy," Loki soothed his aggressive lover. He patiently lifted himself up just enough so that he could help Tony. When he finally slid his jeans off his legs, Loki just looked down at his erection for a moment before saying, "Beautiful."

"Your jeans. Get out of them," Tony ordered, admiring the way the light over his heart dimly lit Loki's face in the dark.

Loki wished he had his magic just so he could show off by vanishing his clothes in the blink of an eye. Instead, he was left with trying to wiggle out of them as quickly as possible before straddling his naked body back down on top of Tony’s lap, their erections bumping together deliciously.

Tony was far too impatient now for foreplay. His hand reached down to grasp Loki's erection in his hand and stroke him. He reached up with his lips to bite Loki's hard as if showing is frustration at holding back.

"You're not going to let me fuck you, are you?" Loki whispered against his lips as he thrust into his hand.

Tony stared at him through lust clouded, dark brown eyes. "No," he said frankly. "Is the thought so awful?" This was still all too new to him, though he wasn't showing it. He was an expert at not showing it. "I've never even kissed another dude before, you know, so cut me some slack. I'm not a queen like you." 

"I'll just have to ease you into it," Loki teasing knowingly, biting Tony on the neck for the 'queen' comment. "But for now I'm going to ride you so hard you will have wished you fucked me sooner." 

"I already wish I'd fucked you earlier," Tony admitted, his heart racing in his chest. His hand left Loki's cock to stroke his own as if he didn't need him at all. Loki's hand promptly pushed Tony's away and replaced it with his fingers that gripped him tightly. 

Tony moaned as Loki worked him as he practically pulsed in his grip. "Come on, then. Hop on it," he demanded crudely, because he was never the romantic type, and thankfully, Loki never struck him as someone who cared.

Loki grinned. "The mouth you have on you," he said with a shake of his head before lifting up to line Tony's cock with his entrance.

Tony was so distracted with the feeling of Loki's wet entrance against the weeping head of his cock that he almost forgot something. Something crucial, even if he didn't exactly know why yet. "Wait," he demanded, wanting to kick himself for almost forgetting. His shaking hands roughly grabbed Loki's hips to stop him. "Grab my pants. There's a condom in the pocket."

"Why? What's a condom?" Loki asked curiously, and it was his curiosity that had him getting off of Tony to reach down towards the floor for his pants. He tossed the jeans at Tony's head in retaliation for making him stop.

Tony reached for the condom and ripped it open with his teeth. He gently slipped it on over his engorged and sensitive cock. "You seriously don't know? Well you should, from what I hear of your promiscuous past," he teased. "Something tells me I should be wearing this."

"I don't understand," Loki stated, eying Tony's condom clad cock warily. His expression made him look like a child presented with a puzzle. "Explain," he demanded. 

Tony rolled his eyes dramatically. Loki was brilliant, so brilliant that even he was impressed, but he could be so damn clueless sometimes. "Look, this way I won't... you know, knock you up," he hurried to say. This was not exactly a conversation he wanted to have. He still wasn't even sure if it was true, and if it was, then how it was even possible. Before Loki could respond, Tony quickly dragged him back into a kiss. "Come on, stop looking at me like that," he muttered apologetically into the kiss. 

Loki wasn't really sure what 'knock you up' meant but he had an idea and he wasn't happy about it. "You are a human, you can't impregnate a god," he stated simply, even though he wasn't really sure. If anyone could do it, it would probably be Tony Stark. "I'm not putting that thing inside of me."

That got Tony where it hurt. "That thing?" he defended. "Just because I want to wear a fucking condom? And don't give me that I am god and you are just a puny mortal bullshit, I've heard enough of it," he snapped, because he never was one to handle rejection very well, and he was nearly ready to explode before suddenly Loki decided to refuse him. He was hard as a rock, for christ's sakes... 

Loki suddenly kissed him to shut him up. "You are not just a puny mortal, calm down. I simply meant we are not the same species," he tried to explain patiently. "I wasn't trying to offend you." 

The kiss did shut him up. That was when he realized that Loki hadn't meant his penis when he said 'that thing', but the condom. He relaxed against him. "I thought you were making fun of my cock," he mumbled. 

"Of course I wasn't talking about your cock. You have a magnificent cock," Loki practically purred as he stroked Tony's chest. "Would you want a piece of alien technology to go up your ass?" he asked delicately.

Tony tried not to get too frustrated. Loki stroking is ego is what placated him. "It isn't alien technology, all humans use them. Women love me for it," he argued. "You won't feel the difference."

Loki sighed, feeling like he wasn't going to win this. He did want to get laid sometime tonight. So he felt himself giving in and hesitantly reached down to stroke Tony's cock.

Tony knew then that the disagreement was over. He hated the latex too, but he could not shake off the feeling that it was necessary. He brought Loki’s lips down to his again in a deep kiss, reaching his fingers around to sink easily into Loki, feeling the wetness he found there against his soft inner walls pulling the digits in tightly.

Loki moaned into Tony's mouth and sat up straight to line Tony’s cock up with his entrance and slowly sank down onto him the moment his fingers slipped away. Tony hadn't really known what to expect when it finally happened, but he did know that the sudden explosion of pleasure that came with Loki's tight body sinking down on his hardness was shocking. 

"Fuck!" he cried out, because he honestly had never felt anything quite as tight and hot and perfect before. 

Loki was panting by the time he was fully seated. "Okay?" he asked, moving his hips in small circular movements as he did not want Tony coming too soon.

Tony's trembling hands immediately grasped Loki's tense thighs like he needed to hold on. "Yeah," he managed to say, because it was better than okay. Few people could impress him, but Loki managed to do so on a regular basis. 

Loki leaned down to kiss Tony again. "You feel wonderful inside me." 

Tony tangled one hand in Loki's hair while the other gripped his thigh with bruising pleasure. "Fuck, you feel good too," he panted, barely able to get the words out as he impatiently pushed up against him.

Loki smiled before sitting up and bringing his body back down to set a rough rhythm. Tony met him with an upward thrust of his own as he tried to feel him even deeper. He watched him intently, his hands sliding up his waist and thighs.

"You can't get much farther in there than you already are," Loki teased.

Tony had to laugh breathlessly at that. "I can still try," he teased back, and that was when Tony shifted his angle just slightly and knew he had found that spot inside of him and threw his head back and moaned, "Fuckyou'retight." 

Loki sucked in a sharp inhale of breath when Tony found that perfect spot. "Right there... right there... right there," he repeated over and over as his movements got more erratic. 

Tony continued to pound up into him, feeling his cock smack against that sensitive spot inside of him expertly. "God, yes, baby…” 

Loki felt his body tensing up and he leaned down to kiss Tony. "I'm going to come," he warned him, sounding surprised that he could without a touch to his cock.

"Then come, baby," Tony urged, slamming up inside of him with each of Loki's coordinated thrusts down. And as if Tony's words had power over him, Loki found himself sputtering hard all over Tony's chest and stomach.

Tony cried out when Loki clenched and unclenched impossibly hard around him, his ass rippling around his cock but held back his own orgasm even though he felt himself on the brink. Once he felt Loki calm, Tony switched their positions until his lover was underneath him, still as deep as possible inside of him. 

Loki moaned and wrapped his long legs around Tony's waist. "Admit it. You've been wanting to get me on my back since you met me." 

Tony smirked, still panting hard and throbbing inside of him. "Yes, well, you've been wanting me on my back, too," he pointed out breathlessly. "Not that I'm complaining. I'm just not done fucking you."

"Take your time," Loki said, stretching his arms over his head, stretching out like a big cat. "I could lay here and let you do all the work all night long."

Tony laughed breathlessly. "I don't think I can last all night long," he admitted as he began to thrust gently into him.

Loki ran his hands up and down Tony's chest, tweaking his nipples. "I want you to come inside me, fill me up."

Tony growled and bit down on Loki's neck hard, earning him a soft yelp and feeling himself unravel. Loki’s hands gripped Tony's nicely shaped ass and pulled him even harder into him.

Tony bit him again and pounded him harder, feeling his orgasm swelling up, his chest stirring with warmth and his balls tight. "Gonna come," he managed to choke out.

"Do it," Loki encouraged, gripping Tony's ass tighter. Tony came just as hard as he did the night before and collapsed on top of Loki, still deep inside of him. He panted hard and rode out his orgasm until he could no longer move. 

Loki ran his fingers up and down Tony's back soothingly. "You are a remarkable human... I think I'll keep you." 

Tony laughed and gently pulled out of Loki, laying on his back to pull off the sticky condom and tied it off. "Keep me? Will I be your pet human, then?" he teased, still breathless. 

"Yes, of course," Loki responded with a teasing smile. "I live in a castle, you know. One that even you will be impressed by. You can come and live with me on Asgard and do all your funny experiments on our magic."

Tony didn't know if Loki was serious or not, but he was going to have to assume he wasn't. "I'm not leaving Earth, even for the best sex of my life," he snickered as he tied off the condom. That was when he realized it. It was small, barely more than a slit, but there was a hole in the condom. Fuck, no.

Loki laughed, not picking up on Tony's distress. "Ah, well, I don't think they will let me back on Asgard in your life time anyway...."

Tony shifted uncomfortably and tossed the condom across the room into the trash. "Uh huh," he agreed without actually having heard anything he said because he was suddenly lost in his own deep, dark thoughts. 

"Having second thoughts?" Loki asked hesitantly. 

"No," Tony told him. "Just thinking,"

"Well, don't hurt yourself," Loki smiled. He pulled Tony back down for a kiss, hoping to distract him from whatever state of mind he was lost in.

Tony rolled over next to him and gave his ass a quick smack for retaliation. He can't think about what could have just happened. Loki had said a human couldn't get him pregnant.

Loki bit his lip lightly for the smack but then soothed it over with his tongue. "Sleep here tonight," he asked, because he never liked sleeping alone.

Tony was used to passing out after sex and he wasn't planning on going anywhere. "Isn't your brother gonna check on you?" he asked, though it was clear he left things unsaid in that statement. 

"He's not that possessive," Loki shook his head. "He's mad at me too. He won't come looking for me anytime soon." 

"That's right. He's used to you sleeping around on him," Tony accused, though he knew it was unfair of him. 

The words stung more than Loki would like to admit and he turned his back on Tony, wrapping the sheet around his waist as he did so. Tony rolled his eyes but followed Loki and wrapped his arms around him from behind. "Oh hey, I was just kidding," he tried. 

"Liar," Loki snarled, but he did not throw Tony's arms off of him. "I don't care what you think of me."

Tony kissed the beck of his neck. "Yes, you do. And I like you," he tried to earn his way back into Loki's good graces, though he was never very good at this kind of thing and he certainty never had a lover that he had to work for.

Loki was quiet as he thought about that. "You like everybody."

Tony snorted. "No, I don't," he argued. "I don't go gay just for anyone, you know. I consider myself a playboy and I love women," he shut up when he realized that while trying to make him feel better he may have screwed up again. 

Loki turned in Tony's arms, that same childish look of puzzlement on his face. "Why me, then?" 

Tony shifted nervously. "I don't know. This is all still very confusing for me," he admitted. 

"I guess we will just have to find out then and every time you say something stupid I will just have to imagine me throwing you out that window," Loki said with a smirk.

"You throw me out that window and I promise I will come back with the suit," Tony said playfully, though his mind was still somewhere else.

But Loki was worn out and he found his eyes closing by their own accord. "Uh hmmm," he agreed sleepily. 

Tony didn't know why, but Loki was gorgeous like this. He was so human with his shorter hair and tired eyes. "Aw, even demi-gods get tired after sex, hmm?"

"Shut it," Loki mumbled, but he knew this was the one human on the planet that never seemed to shut up. "Let me sleep and I'll let you fuck me again in the morning."

"Fine," Tony agreed, because he was willing to give into that compromise. He stretched luxuriously, reaching his hands and arms out. One of his hands reached under the pillow innocently, but felt something hidden there. He pulled it out. It was a photograph. "What’s this?" he asked his lover who he wasn't sure was asleep or not. 

Tony's question brought him back. "Oh... that's Hela. Fury showed us the picture at the meeting." 

Tony knew this. "Yeah, but... what is her picture doing under your pillow?”

"I just took it. What does it matter?" Loki mumbled drowsily.

Tony knew he was lying. Loki was so good at deceit that he probably barely knew he was doing it now. "And put it under your pillow? Who is she to you?"

Loki took the picture from Tony's hand and looked at it for a moment. "She's someone I knew a long time ago, I just hid the picture because I had taken it."

"I don't believe you," Tony told him. "You can be honest with me, you know, especially because you have enough information to blackmail me for years."

Loki turned his head to look at his human lover for a long moment, and whatever he saw in Tony's eyes made him come to a decision. He handed the picture back to him. "What do you see when you look at her?" he asked curiously.

Tony shrugged and glanced again at the photo. She was an attractive woman with flowing blonde hair and fierce eyes. "I don't know. She looks like a crazy slut," he muttered. 

Loki rolled his eyes at the description. "I suppose many would describe her as such. But she is so much more than that. She is one of mine." 

Tony looked down at the picture again as if the answers were there somewhere. "What do you mean, one of yours?" he asked, still not getting it.

"She's my daughter," Loki told him the secret that not even Thor knew. 

It took Tony a while for that to soak in. "Oh, fuck," he sighed. "Does no one know? What about Thor? And who the hell is the... father?" he demanded. 

"Thor doesn't know about her and I want to keep it that way. Her father was a frost giant from Jotunheim, my home world, even though I didn't know that at the time. I just thought I was sleeping with one of my Father's enemies... it is a long story." 

Tony stared down at Loki. "Are you going to fight for her?" he asked bluntly.

"She doesn't even know who I am, I won't get involved."

Tony settled back down beside Loki and slipped the photo under the pillow. "Yes, you will. You love your children.”

Loki raised an eyebrow at that. "What makes you think that?"

Tony shrugged. "Of course you love them. There's a void in your life because you cannot have them."

Loki sighed and wrapped an arm around Tony's waist. "Go to sleep, Anthony, you think too much."

Tony stared up at the ceiling. "How many kids do you have?" he asked nervously.

A tired sigh. "I don't think you want to know the answer to that question."

Tony thought about that for a moment. "I do," he coaxed.

"You have to keep in my mind I've been alive a lot longer than you..." he warned. "I've carried four children and sired two."

Tony was silent as his fingers ran up and down Loki's chest. "Yes, I know you're ancient,” he teased.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to remind you because I know six children sounds like many to a human."

Tony brushed his fingertips up and down Loki's spine. "I understand," he told him. "You should tell the others. Nothing good can come of you hiding it.”

Loki practically melted under the touch. "It's private. I don't want anyone else to know."

"Why is she doing this?" Tony asked. 

"I have no idea. She has never had any interest in Earth before," Loki said honestly. 

"This isn't going to end well if you don't confess to the others. You won't fight against her," said Tony again worriedly.

"No one will notice, I don't fight with your little group... I'll just stay out of the way.”

"Yes you do, Loki, that is why you're here!" Tony argued.

"I never agreed to that," Loki snapped angrily. 

"That's because you weren't supposed to agree to it," Tony growled, but then shut up with an exasperated huff when he realized there was no winning with him. 

"I have no magic, Anthony, she does. I wouldn't last ten minutes in a battle with her and you should take care yourself," Loki warned him.

"What are you talking about, take care of myself?" 

"She'll eat you up and spit you out, Iron Man."

Tony shoved Loki. "Hey! I beat the shit out of you, didn't I?"

"I was weakened from months of torture and traveling through the vortex. I'm surprised I could stand up right," Loki said defensively. "And don't put your hands on me when you’re angry," he warned. 

Tony put his hands up defensively. "Alright, fine," he said, though the anger was gone. "Does this mean no morning sex tomorrow?" 

"We both know you’re going to sneak off back to your bed as soon as I fall asleep," Loki muttered, rolling over so his back was facing Tony. 

"I won't if you don't want me too," Tony promised as his hands wandered along his spine again.

"I want you to stay," Loki admitted to his lover. "And I want you to keep rubbing my back.” 

"Mmmm," Tony moaned as he closed his eyes and continued doing just that. 

Loki fell asleep to the feeling on Tony's hands on him. That night he dreamed of children crying and his own anguished screams.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony woke the next morning as Loki’s clock alarm rang. He quickly shut it off with a protesting moan without opening his eyes, remaining completely unaware that Thor was seated in a chair beside Loki's side of the bed. Loki stirred only to snuggle closer to Tony's heat and felt himself drift off again.

Thor had been watching Loki. His younger brother looked so childlike, and until those sharp eyes opened, he looked like a sleeping angel. He sat back in the chair with his massive arms crossed and decided he had waited long enough.

"Have a good night?" he announced.

Tony’s eyes shot open and he turned his head to see the last person he had hoped to see. "Oh, shit!" he jumped out of the bed and scrambled to get his clothes on.

"I wanted to talk to you... don't worry about Loki waking up. He sleeps deeply after a vigorous night of... exercise," Thor said, not moving from his chair. "What are your intentions with my brother?"

Tony did not stop getting dressed, tripping on his pant leg in his clumsy efforts. "I think it's pretty clear what my intentions are," he pointed out, making sure there was plenty of distance between himself and the God of Thunder. 

"I've heard of your reputation. I won't let him be another notch in your belt," Thor said threateningly. 

Tony finished dressing and stood tall. "Why, because you want him all to yourself?" he challenged. "He's the one who seduced me, you know."

Thor chuckled at that. "Oh, I don’t doubt that. It is something he's very good at, seducing those I consider friends."

"What's your point?" Tony demanded, not sure why the other man was really there. Thor never intimidated him before, but he sure as hell did now. 

Thor slipped deep into thought for a moment before speaking again. "My point is that your lifespan is short. I will be there for Loki when your bones have turned to dust. Don't think sleeping with you means anything," he explained.

That made Tony want to crush him under the arm of his suit, though he didn’t show it. Instead, he just shrugged. "Fine. Maybe I can't compete with you and I will never have what you have with each other, but that doesn't mean we can't have what we have while we have it. And despite what you think, I kinda like him," he argued.

That seemed to be all Thor needed to hear. "Then don't ever hurt him. Despite the show he puts on, he's always been... sensitive."

Tony shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Are you going to kill me in my sleep then, next time?"

"Not while you are making my brother happy," Thor told him honestly.

Making him happy? Tony wasn't really sure that was him. "I thought he made a habit of sleeping with your friends. How are you sure I'm not just another notch in his belt?" 

"With Loki I'm never sure of anything and you shouldn't be either," Thor warned him, standing up with the intention to leave. “Don't let those doe eyes of his fool you, Stark. You've only seen a small part of what he's capable of."

"Thanks. I think I can handle him," Tony told him confidently. "Listen, are you and I... are we cool, then?" he asked awkwardly.

"You get to know who a man truly is in battle, and you are a good man, Stark. I trust you."

Tony noticed the sincerity of Thor's tone and nodded, still angry from Thor’s use of cheap scare tactics. "Okay, then. I won't hurt him," he promised. "Can you not sit by the bed and watch us from now on?" 

"Of course," Thor said with his usual smile, his eyes lingered on Loki's sleeping form for a moment and there was a hint of sadness before he looked away and left. He purposely slammed the door and Loki jerked in his sleep. 

"It's too early," Loki mumbled into the pillow.

Tony looked down at him from where he stood in the middle of the room. "I never really thought you wouldn't be a morning person," he told him.

Loki blinked and looked over at Tony. "What are you doing over there... and clothed?"

"Your brother gave me a pep talk," Tony answered simply as if that would explain everything.

Loki sat up, the bed sheet falling down around his naked hips. He looked Tony up and down with concern. "You are still in one piece so it must have gone well."

Tony shrugged. "He gave me permission. I think he's over you," he lied, wanting to judge his reaction.

Loki chuckled at the thought. "He might be in love with that woman but he will never be over me."

"I'm not so sure. Are you over him?" Tony asked bluntly.

"Do you ever really get over your first love?" Loki asked, answering Tony's question with one of his own.

Tony thought of Pepper. "I'm getting a shower," he announced suddenly, just an excuse to leave. Loki rolled his eyes and flopped back down onto the bed before deciding to follow Tony. 

The bathroom was already filled with steam by the time Loki joined him. He slid into the shower behind Tony with ease, placing his hands on his lover’s hips and biting lightly at his neck. Tony was unable to resist the affection and moaned under the water but did not turn to face him.

Loki continued to nuzzle his neck with his hand venturing down to wrap long fingers around Tony's cock. Tony breathed in deeply. "Fuck," he exhaled encouragingly.

"You have such a dirty mouth on you," Loki whispered into his ear. He was getting hard himself but he was trying to not grind into Tony's ass like his body was begging him to.

Tony, having not had the chance to wake properly that morning, was lulled into a state of drowsy arousal. "Mmm. Well, get on with it," he smirked, because Tony Stark was nothing if not romantic.

"I don't know... I could keep you like this for a while. You are very pliant... I like it," Loki purred huskily into Tony's ear and finally leaned forward to slide his erection against Tony's back, showing him just how much he liked it.

Tony, his eyes still closed, grinned. Loki's erection against him was alright, but if it went poking around, he was ready to put an end to it. "Oh, you like to think you can control me. If you don't finish me off, I'll do it myself," he teased, pretending like he didn't need him.

"You are very big on being in control, aren't you?" Loki commented. He stroked Tony faster and sucked a hickey onto his neck that still tasted faintly of sweat.

"Is that a problem?" Tony asked, trying to keep his voice calm even as his breathing quickened from the faster strokes. "God, that's good..." he mumbled.

"No, it's just interesting that someone so interested in being in control, would court the God of Chaos and Mischief... a little ironic don't you think?" Loki smiled, stroking him faster as his free hand slid up his chest to tweak Tony's nipples.

Tony couldn't help but rut his hips in time with Loki's thrusts. "What can I say, I like the way you're put together. I don't care what you're the god of," he panted. 

"I like the way you feel against me," Loki purred, biting down on Tony's neck. 

Tony smirked, encouraged by Loki's silky voice. "That's- fuck... that's good," he muttered as he felt himself pushing closer.

"You’re so beautiful," Loki mumbled. "I want you to come for me, Anthony."

Nothing turned Tony on more than a good hard stroke to his ego. That brought him closer like Loki knew it would. "Fuck... harder, baby," he demanded, reaching the beginning of the tidal wave. 

"Whatever you want," Loki granted. Tony thrust harder until Loki's wrist struggled to contain him and he threw his head back and shouted as he came, all while Loki’s hand still worked him. 

Tony leaned back against his lover while the post orgasmic twitches raked through his body. Once Tony regained his strength, he pushed Loki's wet hand away and turned to throw him against the tile wall to cover his lips with his. 

Loki had to hunch down a little, their height difference more of a problem when they were standing up. Tony did his best to tower over him but had too much pride to stand on his toes. "What do you want?" he asked, though he wasn't sure he would agree to just anything.

"I'd like your mouth on me," Loki said in a daze, but then remembered Tony was new to this and corrected himself. "If you want, or just your hand is fine."

Tony was afraid of that. What surprised him, however, was the fact that he kind of wanted to do it. But not here, not now. Having never been with another man before, his own fear stopped him. "Another time. Okay?" he asked, the affection in his own voice startling him, his lips very close to his ear. He was sure Loki could sense the insecurity in his tone. To make up for it, his hand slid to his erection and toyed with the tip.

Loki moaned and thrust into Tony's hand. "Yes, fine," he panted, hitching a leg over Tony's hip. "Put your fingers in me," he demanded. 

Tony was quick to suck on his own fingers and even quicker to thrust two deep inside of Loki, knowing that his lover could take it. He expertly found his prostate and collided against it with each thrust of his hand. The combination of Tony's hand and fingers had Loki coming like a teenager.

Tony laughed breathlessly. "Wow. That must be some kind of record," he teased, still stroking him through his orgasm. 

Loki closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tile wall. "Shut up, I was already wound up from listening to you."  
Tony snickered. "Apparently very wound up.”

To silence him, Loki kissed Tony who just smiled into the kiss and moaned approvingly, pulling away from him a moment later to stand under the hot water and rinse himself clean.

"My brother might be okay with us but what will you tell the others if they find out?" Loki asked him suddenly.

"I don't really care," Tony shrugged it off, though he couldn't say for sure that was entirely true. It wasn't like him and they all knew it. As a notorious playboy, he had never slept with the same person twice except for Pepper.

Loki shrugged as if it didn't matter to him either way. He pushed Tony over so he could step under the spray and rinsed off. Tony shoved Loki back playfully. He liked that he could be a little rougher with a male lover.

"You never did learn to share, did you Anthony?" Loki teased him.

Tony chuckled and ran soap over his body. "Never did. I was an only child."

"Lucky you," Loki sighed as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. "I'm starving, I'm going to get breakfast."

Tony peeled back the curtain to watch him. He thought of the broken condom from last night and what Loki had just said. And although he knew it was wildly irrational, he panicked a little. "I didn't know you got that hungry," he asked awkwardly.

"No as much as humans do but it does happen."

Tony glanced down at Loki's flat abdomen before quickly looking back up at his face. "Okay," he said quickly as he shut the curtain.

Loki thought that was an odd reaction but just brushed it off as one of Tony's eccentricities. He walked out of the bathroom and got dressed quickly, intent on getting to breakfast before Thor beat him to it.

***

Tony emerged late to breakfast that morning, and for once, he did not strive to be the dramatic center of attention in the room. He walked quietly over to the pancakes, eyeing the way Loki had already devoured a plate. He noticed Tony looking at him and he licked his fork suggestively before giving his lover a wink.

Tony quickly looked away, not wanting the others to notice. He grabbed a plate, threw some pancakes onto it, and left the room to take it to his lab where he planned on picking at it and drinking his coffee and opening his laptop to collect as much research as he could on Loki's previous pregnancies.

Loki frowned when Tony left. He abruptly lost his appetite and decided to follow Tony not too long after he left. The lab was locked so he banged on the door to get his attention. Tony rolled his eyes when he opened the door. 

"I can't let you in here," he told him sternly.

Loki actually looked offended. "But… you let me in here to meet your children."

"Yeah, but I wasn't working," Tony explained in a frustrated tone. "And they're not my children. They're robots."

"I'll be quiet. You won't even know I'm here," Loki assured, squeezing past Tony to get through the door.

"Hey!" Tony grabbed him and shoved him against a glass wall and Loki relaxed when he saw a smirk playing on his lips. "You think you're so special."

"Of course I do," Loki said with a sly smile of his own. "You better watch it, Stark, these are glass walls. Anyone could see you manhandling me and get the wrong idea."

Tony shoved himself away from Loki. "Or get the right idea. I don't want you snooping around down here, especially when I think that Mr. Doom guy wants my shit," he growled.

"I was not snooping," Loki insisted. "And what do I have to do with Dr. Doom? I don't even know what this stuff does!"

Tony knew it was unfair to take all his problems out on someone else. "Alright, I let you in, didn't I?”

"Yes, you did," Loki said smugly as he pushed past Tony again to visit with the robots, DUM-E practically whistling with excitement.

Tony rolled his eyes, secretly pissed that his robots liked Loki so much. "Did you come in here just to say hi to them?" he asked as he leaned against his desk and shut off his laptop.

"Don't be jealous, it doesn't suit you," Loki said as the robots gathered around him and picked at his clothing. "I wanted to see you, too."

"You've been seeing me. Miss me in the five minutes we were away from each other?" Tony crossed his arms over his glowing chest.

"I was curious about why you didn't eat with the others," Loki shrugged as he gently patted one of the other robots. "Why are you so suspicious of everything I do? I am powerless now."

"I prefer to eat alone.”

Loki sighed. "What were you researching?"

"None of your business," Tony answered frankly.

"Maybe I can help?" Loki asked hesitantly.

"Nope," Tony smiled, almost teasing. He did not want to admit it, but he did not want Loki to leave.

"Fine, then. I'll just be over here," Loki told him.

"Doing what?" Tony glared.

Loki picked up a random tool on the nearest work bench and waved it at Tony. "Investigating your toys."

Tony moved quickly to take the tool out of his hand. "Hey," he growled. "Don't touch anything."

Loki put his hand straight up so the shorter man could not reach it. "Don't tell me what to do."

That infuriated Tony. "Don't make me get my fucking suit and beat the shit out of you back to your home planet," he growled, and decided that if that didn't work, he was going to punch him in the stomach.

Loki slammed the tool down on the table. "I just wanted to have an actual conversation with you and you once again make me just want to choke the life out of you!" Loki yelled, turning around to storm off.

Tony panicked a bit when he thought Loki would walk away. "What did you want to have a conversation about?" he asked quickly.

That stopped Loki's grand exit right in its tracks. "I wanted to know what you do or rather what you liked to do," he mumbled, not wanting to look at Tony right now.

"You know what I like to do," Tony dismissed.

"I know you like to have sex and drink too much."

Tony smiled. Maybe he should lighten up. "I work on my suits.”

"Why- what do you like about it?" Loki asked. He walked back over and hopped up on one of the tables close to where Tony was standing.

Tony leaned forward to kiss Loki hard enough to shut him up. "Shut up."

Loki wrapped his long legs around Tony's waist and pulled him closer. The table he was sitting on made them the perfect height. "I thought you liked it when I talked... you certainly liked it earlier."

Tony bite and kissed his neck. "I like when you talk when I'm fucking you. Any other time and you're annoying," he teased.

Loki tilted his head to the side to allow his lover more access to his neck. "I'm the most intelligent person in this house," he stated with confidence. "Just because you are intimated by that does not make it my fault."

"You are not the most intelligent person in this house," Tony argued as he bit down harshly on his neck.

Loki moaned despite the pain. "Yes I am," he said in a sing song voice.

Tony pulled back to glare at him. "You think you're smarter than I am? I really don't think so. You're older than dirt, sure, but I can fly."

"I didn't realize flying meant you were intelligent. If that is the case then my brother would be a genius," Loki told him sarcastically.

Tony pushed him a little and sat back down in his chair to focus once again on his less interesting computer screen. "You're an asshole. I don't need to prove myself to you."

"I didn't say you did," Loki said, not understanding why Tony was getting so defensive. "Are you really angry with me for teasing you about your intelligence?"

"No," Tony lied. His father had always insulted him the same way.

Humans are such fragile creatures, but so interesting… which was why Loki just wanted to rule them and not exterminate them. "Anthony, you are the smartest human I know. I couldn't choose a worthier human to lie with."

"I told you, I don't care what you think," Tony told him aloofly, typing emails and ignoring him.

"I know, but I'll tell you anyway," Loki huffed. If Tony was going to ignore him, he would just have to find other ways to amuse himself.

"Fine, then. Go ahead. What do you think of me?" Tony asked nonchalantly as he continued typing.

Loki was quiet for a moment as he actually seemed to be thinking about what he was going to say. "I think you and I are a lot alike."

"How's that?" Tony asked.

"We are both spoiled princes with Father issues.”

"Oh my god, we're twins!" Tony exclaimed sarcastically, though his smile was teasing. "Doesn't make us alike at all."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Why do you do all of this anyway?" he said waving his hand in the direction of the suits.

Tony leaned back in his chair and eyed Loki. "It has become a survival technique.”

"It all seems very tedious."

Tony smirked. "Maybe for idiots like you.” To make up for it, he brought his hand up Loki's thigh.

Loki's hand came down to lace with Tony’s fingers. "Why did you let me bed you?" he asked, genuinely curious as to what his motives were.

"You really have to ask that? I like you, even if I don't understand why," Tony said, not moving his palm from where it lay on his thigh.

"I like you, too. I'll leave you to your work," he said abruptly, moving to slide off the work table.

Tony grabbed Loki before he could leave and shoved him into his lap. "That's all you came down here for? To ask me about my hobbies?"

"Hmmm... maybe," Loki said coyly, wiggling purposely in Tony's lap and wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Mmmm," Tony moaned as he gripped his ass in his hands and squeezed. He leaned in for another kiss just as JARVIS announced that someone was at the door.

Loki groaned unhappily. "Tell them to go away," he demanded.

Tony leaned forward to kiss Loki's neck and pull him closer. "It's Jane," he told him nonchalantly.

Loki's whole body seemed to tense up at those two little words. "Jane? Not Thor's Jane…"

Tony's grip around Loki tightened. "Why do you care?"

Loki shut his eyes and leaned his forehead against Tony's. "You called her here, didn't you?" he accused knowingly, not answering Tony's question.

"Mmm," was all Tony gave him, which wasn't an answer at all. "Why does that matter?"

Loki pulled back to look at him. "Why do you have to make everything so complicated?"

Tony was expressionless when he said, "I'm making things easy. Are you jealous?"

It would have been easy to lie and not risk Tony's anger, but lying seemed to be getting Loki into more trouble lately. "A little," he admitted.

Tony took a sharp intake of breath. "If you want him more than you want me, then save me the trouble and go back to him right now," he demanded.

"No, no! I want you!" Loki shouted, shocking Tony into silence and kissing him hard to prove it. Tony kissed him back deeply, his hands sliding up his back.

Loki moaned into the kiss and leaned into his overheated touch. "Fuck me," he demanded. He tried not to think about the reunion that was going on upstairs. His brother needed a chance with his human just as Loki needed his chance with Tony.

Tony thrust up against him eagerly. "You want me to fuck you because you want me to fuck you, or because you want to get back at your brother?" he challenged.

"I want you to fuck me because you are amazing at it," Loki told him huskily.

Tony leaned forward and kissed him hard despite knowing that Loki was not telling the truth entirely. "We can't do it here," he whispered.

"Why not?" Loki asked. "I want you to think about it every time you come down here to play with your toys."

Tony could not say no to that. "JARVIS, close the blinds and lock the door," he commanded, and JARVIS politely responded and closed them in. "You're my favorite toy to play with," he added snarkily as he rocked his hips against his.

"Good... I want to be your only toy," Loki told him sincerely. "No bedding anyone else."

Tony attacked his neck in a rough kiss. "You're mine, then?" he asked. "I'm not monogamous for just anyone, you know."

"No one has really wanted me before. You must be crazy," Loki chuckled.

"I find that very hard to believe." Tony’s hands slid up his shirt to feel his naked chest. "Take off your clothes," he demanded.

Loki stood up and removed his shirt and pants before crawling back up into Tony's lap. His bare skin rubbed against Tony's clothed thighs. "So bossy."

"You like it, you little slut," Tony teased as he brought his lips to his in a deep kiss as one hand moved to unbutton his own jeans and pull out his hardening cock. "How do you want it? Riding me in my chair? Against the glass walls? Bent over my desk?" he whispered huskily into his ear.

"As long as you’re in me I don't care," Loki panted. "As long as you're not wearing that thing on your cock again."

Tony stood up, causing Loki to fall backwards onto his desk with his legs still wrapped around his waist. "I have to, baby," he leaned over to kiss him.

"I want to feel you come inside of me," Loki practically whined as he thrust his semi hard erection against Tony. "Please, Anthony."

"Stop it," Tony demanded, and shut him up with a deep kiss as he thrust against him. He broke the kiss to quickly suck two fingers into his mouth and slip them easily inside of him. His other hand reached into his back pocket to pull out a condom, ripping it open with his teeth.

Loki wasn't one to give up. He reached up to grab at the foil packet between Tony's teeth and tossed it far away from them. In response, just to remind Loki that he was stronger (or so he liked to believe), Tony grabbed his pale throat and glared down at him all while his fingers still fucked him. "No glove, no love, baby.”

Loki's eyes rolled back in his head when Tony’s calloused fingers found his prostrate. He moaned and tried to thrust down farther on them. "Please, please, please..." he incoherently mumbled.

Tony’s own erection throbbed painfully just from watching Loki lose it. "Lucky for you, I've got another one. I never know when you're gonna show up and beg to be fucked," he cursed crudely, tearing the second packet open with his teeth and slipping it over his cock as quickly as he could. Not allowing Loki any time to stop him, he removed his fingers before immediately sinking his cock inside of him and thrusting so hard the desk moved underneath them.

Loki groaned and the sudden intrusion. "I hate you," he told Tony, even as the grip he had on Tony's shoulders said otherwise.

"Mmmm, I hate you too, baby," Tony moaned as if he were saying something entirely different. He thrust harder into him, expertly striking his prostate each time.

"Harder," Loki demanded in a dark tone. "Don't fuck me like one of your mortal women," he hissed, purposely provoking the other man.

Tony gripped Loki hard enough to leave bruises on his pale skin and thrust faster, rougher, enough to break any other 'mortal woman'. Loki smirked, delighted at the reaction before running his nails sharply down Tony's back. Tony growled, pumped into him harder and harder, biting down on his neck viciously. He angled himself only slightly so that he hit that tight spot of nerves at just that angle.

Loki yelped at the sudden attack on his prostrate. "Fuck!"

Tony eyes rolled into the back of his head. Loki was ridiculously wet and tight around his cock but he always had good stamina. Loki was loud, and even though he did not want him silenced, he did not want the entire mansion to hear them. "JARVIS. Music. Loud... now," he ordered through his heavy breathing, and instantly, Black Sabbath boomed through the room.

Loki startled at the sudden loud blast of music. "You don't want your dirty little secret to be discovered?" he said through panted breaths.

Tony continued to pound into him at a punishing pace. "You're just loud. I don't want to be... be disturbed," he slurred, always unable to form any coherence during sex.

Loki suddenly pushed Tony off and out of him completely and sat up just to see what Tony's reaction would be. He loved pushing all of his buttons.

At first, Tony was stunned, his cock still hard and needy and equally as surprised. "Oh, you wanna play, huh?" he challenged with a wide smirk.

"With you... always," Loki promised with a smirk while suddenly darting around Tony.

Tony darted after him, grabbing him and shoving him down against another surface. "Don't act like you don't want it. I thought you were my self-proclaimed toy."

"Sometimes your toys can be taken away," Loki taunted as he shoved him away again, using more strength than he usually did with the human. In response, Tony grabbed him again to force him back down on the surface and press his cock inside of him as much as he could. 

"I never did like that," Tony growled.

Loki suddenly used his strength to flip Tony onto his back on the table, his cock still imbedded firmly inside him. "That's because you are a brat," the trickster god said with a roll of his hips.

The breath was almost knocked out of Tony when Loki began to move on his cock. "I always get what I want," he said when he could finally breathe.

Loki leaned down to kiss Tony apologetically which had the added advantage of shutting him up. Done with teasing, Tony bit Loki's lip hard and grabbed his hips to pump up inside of him as hard as he could. Loki laughed into Tony's mouth and grabbed his lover’s hands to pin them down to the table. "You just can't stand not being in control, can you?"

Tony allowed himself to be a little vulnerable this time. "Is it really that much of a problem?" he asked in seriousness.

"No, just makes it all the better when you finally lose control," Loki whispered, slowing the pace down.

Tony grunted with each agonizingly slow thrust down that Loki made. That was when he remembered something. "Do what you did before, baby. Turn blue," he asked. His voice soft as if it would scare him.

Loki froze and tensed up. "Why?" he asked, not sure what his motives were.

Tony knew this to be a sensitive subject, so he was gentle when he answered, "I think it's sexy." Sexy wasn't really the right word, though it was an accurate description... one of the many. Loki was downright gorgeous when he was blue and wild and natural. Tony wanted it. "I know you think it's embarrassing, but I think it's fucking hot."

Loki frowned down at Tony, obviously not believing him. "No... it could hurt you. Jotun skin can cause frost burn on others. I don't know how to control it."

Tony was never one to shy away from danger. "It's okay... we can stop if we need to," he encouraged. "Let me see it."

"You trust me not to hurt you?"

"You won't," Tony shrugged it off, too proud to admit that it could. 

Tony's confidence gave Loki confidence. He leaned forward to kiss Tony just as he felt himself changing, his skin crawling eerily and the temperature in the room dropping along with his pale form. Tony hadn't known what to expect when the childish look of concentration spread over his face and he transitioned magically into what he always was under the surface. Having never taken off his clothes, the only direct contact Tony felt with Loki now was him around his cock and an icy chill ran through his body like a cold lightning bolt. 

"Oh, fuck," he shivered. Curiously, he reached up and touched his fingertips to Loki’s face, and the touch burned him. "Ow!" he reacted.

Loki reached for Tony's hand and kissed the burn and the frost bite eased away. "Sorry," he said, but was more than pleased that he was able to heal Tony.

Tony laughed softly when the pain faded with just a kiss. Loki looked beautiful like this, his eyes red and skin sparkling blue with magic. "If I kiss you, will you burn me?"

Loki shifted his hips, still feeling Tony inside him. "I haven't frozen your cock off so I say your odds are good... this form is new to me too. I don't know what I can do."

"You do freeze my cock off, and I kill you," Tony teased before he dove into a deep kiss, bracing himself for the pain but feeling only the warmth of his lips.

"I wouldn't freeze off something I love so much," Loki told him sincerely.

It was hard not to reach out and grab Loki, to feel that untouchable skin, but he penetrated his lips and tried to thrust up inside of him. "You're so hot like this," he breathed.

Loki moaned and thrust down against Tony. "You just want to be able to say you bedded a monster."

Tony gazed up at Loki as he rode him. "Fuck you, you know you’re the best lay I've ever had," he growled.

Loki smiled at that, looking even mischievous with his blue skin and crimson eyes. "Good," he said before kissing Tony frantically.

Tony met each of Loki's thrusts with his own, sliding against that special spot inside of him violently. "Fuck, baby," he cursed as he neared his orgasm.

"You're my human," Loki snarled as he felt his body clenching down on Tony’s cock.

Tony bit his lip and grunted. "I'm... I'm gonna come... I need to pull out," he whispered.

"No." Loki pinned Tony's hands down to the table.

"Baby, please," Tony begged, because he realized he would have no control over it when he did come undone.

"I want you to come inside me, even with that condom to separate us."

Tony felt the frustration boil up inside of him. Finally, he reached his limit and could not hold back before he cried out and came inside of the condom. Loki followed him over the edge without so much as a touch to his own cock. 

Loki’s body sagged down bonelessly onto Tony’s heaving chest and Tony grunted when some of his bare skin collided with his and hissed from the pain of the burn, already overwhelmed with the powerful orgasm that had ripped through his body. Loki forced himself to change back to his normal pale human hue and lifted himself up enough so he could run his fingers over Tony's burns. His magic healed them as if they were never there.

Tony watched the transition with fascination. "Your eyes are green," he mused through the heavy haze of his pleasure. "They used to be blue."

Loki frowned at that. "You just weren't paying attention," he argued, laying his head on Tony's chest. "They've always been green."

Tony laid his hands on Loki's thighs, slowly soothing the soft skin there. "No babe, they were blue. Come on," he huffed, because he wasn't an idiot.

Loki sat up to look down at Tony. "When were they blue? You mean when I first met you?"

Tony glared up at him in confusion. "Up until now... I think.”

Loki looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged, unconcerned. "Just the lighting, I guess."

Tony frowned. "Why are you lying?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm not lying. I just don't know what you want me to say. My eyes are green. Ask Thor if you don't believe me."

"I'm not going to ask Thor," Tony rolled his eyes. "Come on, get up." He patted his rump.

Loki pouted but lifted himself off Tony's mostly clothed body anyway. "You always think I'm lying to you."

Tony sat up, and without looking at his lover, peeled off the condom and flung it carelessly into the trash. "Well, you are the god of deceit and trickery and I know what I saw."

Loki sighed and stood up, grabbing his clothes and putting on his pants. "I'm the God of Mischief and Magic," he corrected softly, mostly to himself.

Tony smiled and brought Loki against him and into a kiss. "Same thing," he teased. He did not want to push him away even if he did think he was holding something back.

Loki leaned into Tony even as he finished dressing. He huffed and stole another kiss before pulling his t-shirt over his head. Tony thought the oversized shirt was adorable and slipped his hand underneath it. "Where you serious when you said I couldn't get you pregnant?" he asked tentatively. "Because I'm human?"

"I've never heard of an Asgardian and a mortal being able to reproduce," Loki told him honestly. "Are you really so worried? Is that why you insist on those wretched condoms?"

Tony shrugged. "I'm not worried. I just want to be careful."

Why were the only people willing to breed him monsters and madmen? Loki sighed at the thought. "Heaven forbid you get me pregnant. I suppose that would not look good," he conceded.

"Oh, come on. I just don't want a kid. Nothing wrong with that," Tony argued.

"You say that because you have never had one, never held one in your arms and had them look up at you like..." Loki cut himself off and looked away from Tony.

Tony turned Loki back to him and kiss his forehead. "I only want you. So just forget about it. I'm still trying to accept the basic fact that I'm sleeping with a dude and I like him enough to want to keep doing it."

Loki nodded, but not really in acceptance. "I want you too."

Tony smirked and grabbed his ass. "I know you do, you make that very clear," he teased.

Loki smirked and wrapped his arms around Tony's neck. "Yes well, you are very enticing... we could just hide out here until your guest leaves."

"No, we can't," Tony shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Will seeing him with her set you into a jealous rage?" Tony answered a question with a question.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Of course not. I've watching him bedding others before. Asgardians don't play by the same rules as humans do. We live too long to just have one mate."

Tony tried not to let that make him jealous. After all, Loki had probably said it hoping to provoke him. "Then why do you want to hide?" he challenged.

"Because... I don't like humans. With the exception of you, of course. I don't want to be around them more than is strictly necessary. "

Tony combed his own hair with his fingers and straightened his clothes, trying to make it look a bit like he didn't just have wild sex on a lab table. "So you're just anti-social. Well, I'm not. You can hide, but not here."

Loki knew then that it was much easier to get his way with Thor, Tony, for some reason, was far more difficult. "Fine," he muttered, turning around to leave the lab and hopefully find another hiding place.

"You can hide in my room if you want," Tony offered right when Loki reached the door.

"I'll think about it," Loki said before slamming the door behind him, leaving Tony alone in his lab.


	11. Chapter 11

That night it was decided that the Avengers should have a celebration in the mansion on account of their guests. Tony was tipsy but not as drunk as some of the others. After all, someone had to be on guard for another attack and he never did like losing control around strangers. So many of these people were still strangers. 

Loki discretely observed the room full of people before he made his low key entrance. Eric Selvig was in the corner talking to Bruce Banner about something that sounded insanely boring. Loki would stay away from Eric just like he did Barton. There was no reason to give them a chance at revenge. The Black Widow had done a good job so far of keeping the archer away from Loki but he knew he was just waiting on the perfect opportunity.

Thor was on the couch with Jane Foster, talking in quiet tones. Loki didn't feel as much jealously for the girl as he initially thought he would. She was only human and there was no way the All Father would let Thor marry her.

The Soldier was standing off to the side by himself. It seemed like he didn't really know who to talk to whereas Tony was bouncing from group to group, able to fit in with anyone to start a conversation. Loki simply watched him for a moment, admiring his backside in his fitted jeans before his gaze focused on a human girl he didn't know. She must have come with Jane and Dr. Selvig. 

Loki slipped into the room without anyone noticing and made his way to the bar where she was sorting through different bottles of liquor. If she didn't know him, she couldn't hate him.

Darcy jumped when Loki helped her with a bottle that was on the top shelf and that led to a lively conversation. It was an instant friendship and Tony grew aware of his presence in the room after that.

Forty-five minutes later, Darcy and Loki were sprawled out behind the bar, conveniently out of view of the others. Drink in hand, Tony walked behind the bar and eyed them suspiciously. "I thought Asgardians could hold their liquor," he challenged.

"I'm not Asgardian," Loki bragged, using his Jotun magic to frost over the bottle his lover was holding. Tony hissed in pain and placed the bottle on the bar. "Darcy here convinced me to play a drinking game... I think I lost."

"I can see that," Tony mused. He snatched Loki’s bottle from his hand.

"Hey, that's mine!" Loki shouted, standing up and grabbing at the bottle.

Tony childishly turned away from Loki and chugged the rest of the beer until it was empty. He handed it back to him with a cocky smile, vaguely aware of the strange look he was getting from the girl.

"That was rude," Loki told Tony.

Tony knew that he was just looking for attention and was jealous that Loki was spending the evening drunk with a stranger and ignoring him completely. He shrugged. "What are you doing back here?"

"Talking," Loki shrugged, running his hand up Tony's shirt. "I like this shirt."

"You can't have it."

"Why not? I'm tired of wearing Thor's clothes. I would much rather be in yours," Loki practically purred.

Tony smiled. He couldn’t help but feel a bit victorious that Loki was tired of Thor and wanted him. "You're wasted. It's nice to not see you wearing that stick up your ass for once."

Loki was having a hard time keeping his hands to himself and it was starting to attract attention from the others in the room. "There is no stick... but there could be something else."

Tony, for once, didn't care that Loki was obviously flirting with him behind the bar. He knew those who didn't know about them yet have at least suspected. "You really are trashed," he mused.

"Take me to bed," Loki whispered in his ear.

"Tired already?" Tony raised one eyebrow and reached for another drink to pretend to ignore his lover completely.

Loki's eyes narrowed. If Tony was going to play that game, he was going to play it right back. "I need some air," he told whoever might be listening and walked out towards the balcony.

Tony purposefully took his time to join Loki. Ten minutes later, he walked leisurely over to him. "Don't puke off my balcony."

"Don't you ever get tired of that little show you put on in there?" Loki asked Tony bitterly.

Tony laughed and leaned against the wall to look out at the urban night sky. "Oh, and what little show is that?”

"You in there playing a good host... flirting with anyone that pays you any attention," Loki said snidely.

"Oh come on, I was not flirting!" Tony exclaimed. "You know, jealousy isn't a good look on you."

"I don't get jealous. I get even," Loki growled, crowding Tony's space threateningly.

Tony wasn't the least bit intimidated. "And who exactly was I flirting with, psycho?" he challenged. "You're drunk and you don't know what you're talking about."

"I am drunk and you are a big flirt. It must just come naturally to you," Loki accused.

"Who says I can't flirt?" Tony asked.

"Me," Loki told him. "I don't like it."

"I already told you. I wasn't flirting. You were the one having a secret ‘girl's only’ meeting under my bar.”

"Darcy is the only one in the room that didn't know who I was and didn't hate me on sight. Of course I was going to talk to her," Loki defended.

"I don't hate you," Tony shot back at him. "At least not in quite the same way."

"Of course it is the same," Loki argued. "Who is Phil?" 

That caused Tony to tense. With the mention of that name, he shifted into something else. He turned angrily towards Loki and glared. It was the fact that he didn't even know who Phil was that made him so angry. "He was my friend- our friend, who you fucking killed!"

"Ah," Loki nodded as he figuring it out. "I have killed a lot of people but I can honestly tell you that I did not kill anyone while I was on the Hell carrier. The man I stabbed with a spear... it should not have been a killing blow. But let me guess… Fury told you he died and you all magically came together as a team. The Avengers."

Tony had visions then of throwing Loki against the wall and beating him into a bloody pulp. Or killing him. Yes, that would make them even. But he did none of that. He just continued to glare at him angrily, his hands balling into fists. "What the fuck are you saying? The least you could do is own up to it!”

"I didn't kill him. That blow would have injured but not killed. If I had wanted him dead he would have been dead." Loki shrugged. "Fury lied to all of you."

Tony advanced towards him. "I don't fucking believe you," he growled, and knowing that he could not stand to hear any more, just walked away. Loki could put his own self to bed tonight.

"Anthony, wait..." Loki grabbed Tony by the shoulder to turn him around, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by the soldier.

"Is there a problem out here?" Steve asked, his hands clenched into fists at his side, clearly ready to fight.

Tony focused his anger then on someone else. "No, there isn’t a problem here," he snapped. He wondered if he had heard everything they were just saying. "Mind your own business, G.I. Joe."

Steve rolled his eyes but did not leave. "Should I get Thor?" he asked, eying Loki warily who just looked offended.

"I was not doing anything," he defended himself.

Tony was getting frustrated. "Listen, just leave us alone, alright?" he demanded.

With a suspicious look, Steve sighed and left but it was obvious to both of them that it was just to retrieve Thor. When he was out of earshot, Loki whispered, "Come to my room tonight, please."

Tony turned back around to glare at his lover. "Why?"

Loki stifled a growl, not used to having anyone turn down an offer to bed him. "I would have thought that was obvious."

"You know what? Maybe it's a good thing the soldier is getting your brother, I have a question for him," Tony said with a threatening tone. "Thor!" he called.

Loki looked panicked. "What are you doing?" he hissed just as Thor came out onto the balcony to see what was going on.

"The captain said there was a problem out here," Thor said tiredly. Jane was right behind him, eying Tony and Loki curiously.

"There's no problem. I just want to ask you a favor concerning your brother," Tony said innocently. "Alone," he added, eying the girl.

Thor looked behind Tony where Loki was glaring furiously at both of them. "Jane, I will just be a moment," he said politely and the girl left with one last look towards them.

Thor looked at Loki. "What favor do you ask of me, Tony?"

"He has to tell you the truth, right?" Tony asked as soon as the three of them were alone. "No matter what, if you ask him, he has to answer honestly?"

Loki did not like where this was going. He had hoped that the others would have forgotten about this little detail of Odin's punishment. "Yes, our father cast the spell himself," Thor told Tony.

"Ask him something for me, then. Ask him how Phil died. And make sure he's telling the truth," Tony demanded.

Thor met Tony’s defensive glare with one of confusion but asked anyway. "How did Phil die, brother?"

Loki looked relieved. "He could not have died. The blow I gave him was not meant to kill, only to injure. I had no need to kill him."

Thor looked at Tony. "He speaks the truth," he shrugged. "I was there when it happened and the last I saw… the agent was still alive."

"Ask him who did kill him," Tony pointed at Loki childishly, still skeptical.

Loki interrupted before Thor could form the question. "He is not dead, at least not from my hand. Fury lied to you and you let your emotions control your brain!"

"Ask him, Thor!" Tony shouted, as if Loki wasn't even with them at all.

Thor clenched his jaw with frustration. He didn’t like getting in the middle of two such strong personalities. "Loki do you know who killed Phil?" he asked.

"I do not know but it was not me!" Loki snapped.

Tony turned around to glare at Loki. He hadn’t expected this. He turned away from both of them then to drink deeply from his bottle. "Thanks, Thor," he dismissed the other man who was all too happy to return back to the party.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked angrily when Loki tried to sneak away a moment later.

"As far away from you as I can get before I do something I regret," Loki hissed.

The realization that Loki actually was telling the truth began to settle in Tony slowly. "You’re mad because I didn't trust you?"

Loki stopped but kept his back to Tony. "Yes," he admitted quietly, his shoulders sinking.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I have every right not to trust you."

"Of course you do. Which is why what we are doing will never work out," Loki whispered. "I'm going to my room."

Tony was surprised into silence. It took a moment for those words to sink in, and when they did, he decided to act like they didn't matter. "Fine. I guess it won't," he agreed with no emotion tied to his voice. Loki's hands clenching was the only indication that he was upset before he left Tony alone on the balcony. 

So that was it. Tony had been Loki’s toy and his source of amusement while the prince was bored in this prison and had cast him away when he became too bothersome. He felt used and rejected, two emotions Tony was not used to feeling. It infuriated him. He wasn't going to admit the great sense of loss he felt as he watched his lover walk away from him, even to himself.

It was later that night that Tony’s frustration boiled over. He wasn't sure what to think or what to do and he was on his way to Loki's room to demand answers before he felt the mansion shake and JARVIS alerting him of the attack.

"Oh, fuck, could you learn better timing!?" he screamed

Loki came around the corner and ran right into Tony in his haste. "It's Hela's magic…” he rushed worriedly, "your defenses won't hold up against magic."

"Well, get rid of her! Talk to her!" Tony exclaimed, though he knew it was a lot more complicated than that.

"My words would have no power over her!" Loki yelled, panicked as the wall to their left suddenly collapsed to reveal the woman herself. She was using her power to levitate herself into what was left of the room and she had the same ethereal beauty her father but her hair was so blonde it almost looked white.

"Hello, boys," she greeted them with a devious smile. 

She was beautiful, tall and statuesque, but her eyes were cold and she looked older than Tony knew her to be. "JARVIS, get my suit ready," Tony mumbled under his breath before turning to Loki. "I think you two have some talking to do, right?" he tried to urge him. He could speak to her, he knew it. He was the only one that could.

Loki looked panicked and Hela looked amused. "What could the God of Mischief have to say to the Goddess of the Underworld?"

"Don't let her touch you," Loki warned Tony quietly. Hela's touch could kill both mortals and immortals. No one was immune to it unless she wanted them to be. "Hela, why are you on Earth? I didn't think you were very amused by mortals." 

Loki was just trying to stall for time until the others arrived, but from the sounds of it, there was a battle outside between the Avengers and Dr. Doom's robots. Tony very nonchalantly walked backwards so that he was behind Loki. "Yeah, you're late to the party," he snarled. He wondered if he could get to his suit from here...

"I heard about your little tantrum down here and was curious about what all the fuss was about. I came here to investigate and met a very interesting human that possesses magic. He informed me that SHIELD had possession of this." 

Loki's staff suddenly appeared out of thin air, its blue gem glowing brightly. Loki let in a sharp intake of breath.

When Loki’s eyes found Tony's then, they had turned the same iridescent blue as the gem that controlled the staff. The blue gem, also called the infinity mind gem, was what Thanos used to control Loki when he sent him to Earth. Hela had figured this out and stolen the staff from SHIELD, knowing it was tied to Loki, one of the most powerful mages of the universe. She thought she could control him just like Thanos had.

Tony was beginning to put the puzzle pieces together but there were still some missing. "What do you want?" he demanded, still slowly backing up. He could get to his suit.

Hela smirked. It was the same familiar smirk Tony had seen so many times. "Why, I don't know... maybe the most powerful magic user in the universe under my control," she teased. The gem in the staff grew brighter.

Loki, knowing what was coming, turned to push Tony as far away from him as he possibly could just as the beam of light from the staff hit him and seemed to engulf him completely. Even after Loki pushed him away, Tony dove towards him with the intent to protect him but had to stop the instant he watched Loki transform. "What the fuck..." he muttered to himself, closing his eyes against the blinding light. When it dimmed, Loki was kneeling and no longer wearing his mortal clothes but dressed in the battle armor he had fought in countless times before. His magic was back.

Loki felt it just as he had first felt it the first time under the spell of the gem Thanos had put on him. All his anger, fear, and jealousy was multiplied. The sane part of his brain tried to retreat into the void of madness to protect itself. 

This time, though, it was different. Hela, though powerful, was no match for her father and this time he had a mortal's voice keeping him steady.

"Loki Odinson is bound to me," Hela told Tony with a sinister smile. "The Mind Gem is the only thing that can ensnare the trickster. Kill the mortal. And then bring me your brother's head."

Tony actually laughed at that, but his laughing ended abruptly when Loki stood and walked over to Tony, his eyes the same strange blue they were when they first met. "Snap the fuck out of it! You are not her lap dog!" he shoved him.

When Loki reached out for him, he did not attack. Instead, he gently touched Tony's cheek before he turned his back on him to head for his daughter. "What are you doing?!" Hella screeched.

Tony was frozen in place, feeling the ghost of Loki’s ice cold hand against his cheek. "I'm taking you home," Loki said simply, and Tony watched helplessly as he pulled her to his chest and disappeared with her in a cloud of green smoke.

Tony thought about how Loki had looked at him. His eyes were a strange color of sadness and anger and adoration, all of which had subdued Tony in a strange way before he had turned away from him and poof, he were gone. Tony coughed and stood alone for a minute, hoping to still find his lover there once the cloud cleared. 

"Thor!" he screamed as he ran out of the room.

Thor came barreling down the hall in a panic. His own clothes were singed from the battle taking place with Doom. He had just been able to get away to check on his brother. "Where is Loki?" he demanded as soon as he saw Tony.

"Hela took him," Tony answered simply. "He's gone. They're both gone."

"What do you mean Hela took him?!" Thor roared.

Tony, out of shock now and straight into panic, grabbed Thor and shook him. "I mean she took him! They both vanished! What does it mean?!" he shouted.

"They could be anywhere with Hela's magic."

Tony was irrational as he stumbled around not knowing what to do and helpless to bring him back. "Well, get him back!" he shouted at Thor.

"There is no way of knowing where they went!" Thor yelled right back. "How could you have let him be taken?!"

Tony took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "He actually... was the one to take her," he admitted.

"What!?" Thor roared again. "Loki does not have his magic. It could not have been him!"

Tony wanted to tell him the truth that Hela was Loki's daughter, but something stopped him and he kept it to himself. "I don't think he wanted to," he told him. "But he didn't fight her. She had his staff."

Thor frowned as he thought on that. "She must be controlling him somehow," he said thoughtfully.

"Of course she is... how do we get him back?" Tony demanded. "Your dad, Odin or whatever, tell him to get off his lazy ass and do something!"

"Hela's powers shield her from my father's sight…" Thor explained.

Tony opened his mouth to speak, to demand more of Thor, but he was starting to realize that there was nothing they could do. "What happened outside?"

Thor sighed. "The man that kidnapped you was back with more of his machines."

"How did we get rid of them?"

"They were scared off when Dr. Banner turned green. Loki will talk his way out. He always does," Thor tried to say confidently.

"No," Tony argued. "No, not this time. He's trapped."

"Have faith Stark, Loki will be back. Hela would not dare kill him. She fears my Father's wrath too much…”


	12. Chapter 12

It was a week later when Tony began to give up on ever finding Loki again and it hit him harder than he thought it would. There was no other sign from Dr. Doom or his minions and he began to wonder if Loki was all Hela wanted. He felt empty and it burned in him like the blue illumination in his chest and he handled it like he handled all his problems that he couldn’t solve. 

He had just finished his last drink and wandered into his bed still fully clothed to stare at the ceiling and brainstorm.

Loki appeared suddenly out of thin air not too long after Tony lay down, wearing his heavy Asgardian clothes and looking intimidating except for the obvious bruises under his eyes from lack of sleep. 

"If you call for the others I will leave before they get here," Loki warned, out of breath and leaning heavily on what looked to be the same staff with the absence of the blue glowing gem.

Tony was so surprised that he fell out of bed and onto the floor, but stood up quickly only to almost fall down again when he realized who it was in his room. At first, all he could do was stare. Loki looked tired, abused, and weighed down by his armor. 

"What the fuck, Loki!?" he shouted.

"Quiet!" Loki hissed but his hands were gentle as he reached out to steady Tony. "I just came back because I wanted to tell you thank you."

Tony shoved off Loki's gentle, betraying hands. "What?! Thank you for what?! How did you get back here, how can you just leave with the enemy with no explanation?!" he shouted more quietly. 

Loki sat down heavily on the bed and allowed his spear to fall to the floor. "I took Hela back to her realm and bound her to it. I do not know how long that will last."

Tony continued standing. "Well, then you're free. You're not going back. You aren't helping any of us by being M.I.A.," he demanded, still stubbornly pretending like this wasn't personal. "What happened to you?" he reached out to touch a bruise over his lover’s face. 

Loki sighed and closed his eyes and relaxed. "Hela's magic awakened the mind gem and the one who controls it found me. I cannot stay in one place for very long, it's not safe."

Tony pulled back his hand and glared down at him. "Well, here's just a thought, you idiot... tell her she is your daughter!"

"Things are more complicated than that."

Tony felt his fists clench in frustration. He was just trying to keep himself from falling apart. "No, Loki. I know that you're... very much a child still, but this isn't complicated. It's very simple. Tell her you are her father. Why are you doing this?"

Loki forced himself to stand even though it was on unsteady legs. He did it just so he could tower over Tony to prove his point. "I am no child," he said angrily. "I want to stay but I can't. I can't risk losing you."

Tony rolled his eyes and decided not to argue over whether Loki was a child or not. He remembered what they were all told about Loki's real age. "You're going to lose me if you go," he pointed out. "Unless you want to be there. Unless you are lying to me right now." 

Loki pulled Tony to him and kissed him hard to shut him up.

Tony kiss him back desperately at first, his hands clenching the bed sheets to hold them back from reaching out to touch him. He pulled away from him angrily only a moment later. "Don't pull that shit with me," he hissed. "You can't just shut me up. And why do you dress like a goddamn drag queen?"

Suddenly with a snap of his fingers, all of Loki's clothes disappeared, along with Tony's. Loki pulled Tony closer to him. "Better?" 

Tony shoved Loki onto his back and held his long arms over his head. "No," he growled. "I'd rather rip them off of you myself."

"You weren't fast enough," Loki said, letting himself be manhandled onto his back. He wrapped his legs around Tony's waist.

In that moment, Tony didn't care about having his questions answered. All he cared about was taking possession of Loki and keeping him right here where he belonged... underneath him with his legs spread. "Oh, so you want it fast, huh?" He let go of his lover's wrists and thrust his hard cock against his hips. 

"I want it however you want to give it to me." Loki moaned when their cocks brushed together.

Tony’s eyes were glazed over with lust and intoxication and he glared down at him even as his hips thrust against his. "You fucking bastard. They all think you're the enemy now. And now you've made that true." 

"I don't care what anyone else thinks and I didn't think you did either," Loki whispered, rolling his hips to meet Tony's thrusts.  
"It's not just what everyone thinks, it's what I think," Tony growled as he sucked two of his fingers into his mouth only to wet them briefly and shove them deep inside of Loki. 

"I'm not your enemy," Loki groaned. He was already wet and ready since the moment his back hit the bed.

Tony's thought about the condoms he had in his bedside drawer. "I want you to stay. I need you to stay. Don't make me ask again," he snarled, finding his prostate in hopes of convincing him.

"I can't...too dangerous," Loki gasped.

Tony withdrew his fingers to replace them with the blunt head of his cock at his entrance. He did not reach for the condoms. "The Loki I know isn't afraid of a little danger.”

"I only like danger when it's just my own well-being at risk," Loki shot back at him breathlessly and used his legs to try and push Tony into him. "Don't you need one of those... things?"

Tony hastily stuck his hand into the drawer, pulled out a condom, and ripped it open with his teeth. He slid it over his cock and instantly felt suffocated by latex. "I can take care of myself," he snarled as he pressed his erection against his entrance, and without further warning, penetrated him. "Fuck," he exhaled.

Loki moaned as Tony pushed into him and his nails trailed down Tony's back to grip his ass. Tony rested his forehead against his as he began to pound into him, his own claws tearing down his thighs. "You're mine," he demanded possessively, not shaken this time by the intimacy between them. 

Loki pulled Tony into a kiss when he could feel himself approaching his orgasm too quickly. "Slow down... we have all night," he tried to pacify his aggressive lover.

Tony slowed down and nestled his neck to suckle a bruise onto his skin. "You told me you only had a little... little bit of time," he panted.

"I know...I know…" Loki tried to catch his breath. "But I was about to come and didn't want it over so fast."

Tony felt a violent shiver through his body and out his cock at the thought of Loki on the edge already. "Okay. We can go slow," he soothed him, changing his pace to thrust gently but thoroughly into him. 

In was then that Loki remembered he did not like this. He did not like going slow and facing his lover. He liked to be taken hard and fast, going slow wasn't what he was used too and it left him too exposed. Last time this happened with Thor, Loki had a breakdown. "Let me turn around," he said suddenly pushing at Tony's chest. 

Tony had never been slow before. He had never wanted to. He never wanted to savor it, to watch the expressions change on his lover's face, to feel him breathe and his heart beat. So when Loki wanted to turn around, he lifted himself up to stare down at him. "Why?" he panted, resisting Loki's hands pushing him away as his hips continued to thrust deeply inside of him. 

Loki moaned… it was too hard to think with Tony moving inside of him. “Because... because... oh, fuck it, never mind."

Tony held his thighs in place. "You want to hide from me?" he asked. To him, Loki wasn't a great mystery. He felt sweat drip down the side of his face as he watched Loki take it. "You don't get to hide from me."

"I won't, I won't hide from you," Loki promised as he closed his eyes.

Tony lost the ability to speak and lost himself in Loki, still half convinced this was all a dream or illusion. Something was missing. Something wasn't right. It wasn't quite enough. He could not feel him as much as he needed to. 

"Wait…" he managed to say, and without thinking, pulled out of Loki to rip off the irritating condom and throw it to the middle of the room. "Fuck the condom," he growled.

Loki looked surprised. "Really?" he asked when he felt nothing in between them.

No, Tony wasn't sure. But right now, he didn't care. He practically could feel Loki slipping out of his reach. "I can't feel you," he whispered through his ragged breathing as he gripped his lover's thighs hard enough to bruise and penetrated him again deeply. He opened his mouth to cry out as he felt Loki raw for the first time. Loki made a sound that was more animal than man as Tony pushed into him.

Tony had never experienced this kind of pleasure before and he thought he had experienced everything. He was a human man with the ability to fly and obtain unspeakable strength, yet thrusting raw into Loki opened up an overwhelming new level of perfection. "God yes... god yes!" he cried out as he fucked him and buried his face in his neck.

Loki bit down into Tony's shoulder to stifle his own sounds, not wanting to risk waking anyone up as he felt himself start to tighten and tense. It was Tony that lost his mind while lost in Loki, fucking him hard and mumbling obscene endearments in his ear. He thrust harder the tighter Loki became and he angled himself to strike his prostate. "I'm gonna come... gonna come inside you," he whispered.

Loki wanted to say ‘about time’ but the words were lost to him and he was suddenly coming hard in between them and screaming Tony's name. Tony slammed into him and followed a moment later. He collapsed on top of him and knocked his own breath out of his body. The realization of what he had just done and the possible consequences had not yet settled into his anxious mind. 

Loki kept his legs firmly locked around the other man’s waist in an attempt to prevent him from pulling out. "No don't...not yet," he pleaded when Tony sat up.

He had no willpower to resist him and his arms fell slack. He laid his full weight on his lover again, still deeply impaling him and feeling the gentle rock of the aftermath of his orgasm. The fact that he had just come inside of Loki when he knew he shouldn't didn't matter now. He was going to lose him again, anyway.

"You're thinking too much," Loki told him softly as he ran his fingers through Tony's sweaty hair.

A snort through still very heavy breathing was his only reply. "You expect me to not be thinking?"

"Right after that? Most men don't."

"I'm not most men," Tony answered simply, his voice hoarse.

"Obviously, or I would not be in this position."

"You shouldn't have come here at all. It's pretty fucked up, just showing up for a quick fuck and leaving again."

"I wanted us to have a proper good bye," Loki told him sadly.

Tony tensed with anger. "Fuck you. This isn't goodbye," he growled. "You selfish bastard." 

"There are more people that want me dead out there in the universe than those who want me alive. I can't guarantee that I can come back to you."

Tony gripped him harder. "You idiot. We could keep you safe here."

"Not from this... not from him. This is not your battle and I refuse to drag you into it," Loki told him. 

"You've brought us all into it, Loki," Tony insisted, though he knew he would never understand. 

"I know I did. But now I am trying to make it right."

Tony nuzzled Loki's lips with his own and kissed him deeply. He would hold him here against his will if only he knew how. "You want to make it right? Stay with me," he demanded.

"It would never work, you know it wouldn't. It's best to end it before we end up killing each other." Loki sighed.

Tony felt a pain deep in his heart, and of course, it made him defensive. "You think I do this often? You know how many people I let get close to me, Loki? Do you have any idea how many relationships I've been in, how many people I've fucked more than once?" he challenged.

"What do you want me to do, Anthony? Stay with you, watch you grow old and die? While I am left with nothing!?" Loki snapped angrily. 

Tony felt his face heat up with anger as he gripped the bedsheets tightly. "You are leaving me with nothing!" 

Tony's cock was still inside of him and Loki was still very much aware of it. "I have nothing left to give!"

Tony used this opportunity to lift off of Loki and slip out of him, flopping down onto his back and glaring at the ceiling. As much as he wanted to stay inside of Loki forever, it only made him more and more vulnerable.

The silence in the room was deafening since between the two of them, usually one of them was always talking. Loki couldn't stand it. "I don't regret this. I don't regret you. I don't want you to think that I do. If I had met you before... it could have been different. I was different. You would have liked me better then." 

Tony waited a moment, letting the silence settle, before he responded. "No, you're wrong. I like you just the way you are.”

Loki wanted nothing more than to curl up into Tony's heat and fall asleep, but instead, he forced himself out of the bed. Tony reached out to stop him with a vice like grip around his arms. "Why do you always have to make everything so difficult?" Loki sighed, wanting to pull away from Tony but unable to make his body obey.

Tony rolled his eyes and didn't let go. "Speak for yourself. You're the one that causes problems.”

"What do you think is going to happen when your friends find out your fucking me? I am back on the enemies list, aren't I?" Loki said sarcastically. 

"They don't matter. All they want is to have you back," Tony told him, which wasn't necessarily a lie, but wasn't the truth, either. Besides, none of them knew what really happened and that Hela was Loki's daughter.

"Liar," Loki muttered, but he relaxed into Tony's arms and kissed his lover's collarbone.

That was when Tony said something that he thought he would never say to anyone, only because of how desperate he really was. 

"I hope I knocked you up."

That startled a laugh out of Loki. "You are insane."

"Maybe," Tony admitted.

"I never have been with someone who actually wanted me to carry their children," Loki said thoughtfully. "Why do you want to impregnate me? I'd just get fat and our sexual positions would be limited."

Tony did not lessen his grip on Loki's arms. "Because it would give you a reason to stay here, you idiot."

"Ah, you wish me to be bound to you."

Tony said nothing, letting the darkness of the room hide him as his grip on Loki tightened. Weren’t they already bound together? "Maybe one day, Anthony... Maybe one day I will bind myself to you," Loki said sleepily, feeling himself drift off in the safety of Tony's arms at the thought.

Tony relaxed against Loki. "Well, by the time you're ready, I will have moved on," he lied.

"That is a possibility," Loki admitted, "but I know how to make people disappear."

"You leave me now and you have no right to come back.”

"When have I ever had the right to do anything?"

"You're missing the point."

"I know. I am sorry."

Tony said nothing as his fingers caressed up and down his side, luring Loki to lie back down beside him. Loki closed his eyes and sighed contently. He kissed him one last time before he allowed sleep to pull him under.


	13. Chapter 13

Loki disappeared from Tony’s bed that night and wasn't heard from for almost a year. Thor left the mansion to go live with Jane and help her with her research. Other than that, life continued on as normally as it could for the Avengers.

Every now and again something strange would happen. A villain would be found at SHIELD headquarters, tied up on the front lawn, cursing Norse gods. A woman would swear she was saved from rape by the same psychopath that had tried to take over the earth... orphans from the attack on Earth would suddenly find themselves inheriting more money than they could ever need. It seemed Loki was trying to help out the world he had once wanted to rule, but he was going to do it his way.

Tony tried to move on. He tried to pretend that what he had with Loki had only been some sort of experiment during a time of weakness, that it was over and he would never again need him. But deep down, he knew he was wrong. Though he hid it well, especially from himself, something was missing from his life that he could not fill with alcohol, women, or even his work.

***

Stark. The very name filled Loki with hate and want and lust and something he had never really felt before, but at the moment he was stuck on the hate feeling as another contraction hit. He was on some island in the south pacific, hiding from those who hunted him, but he knew he couldn't go through this alone without it killing him.

He briefly thought of going to his brother for help, but Thor seemed so happy now with Jane Foster and pretending to live a human life while he could. Loki didn’t want to interrupt that… especially when this was all Stark's fault. Loki was furious as the next contraction brought him to his knees and he thought of the father of his child as he let his magic pull him back to New York.

He appeared on the roof on the Avengers mansion where Tony and he had their first civil conversation. His knees hit the ground again even as he stumbled to rise, his hands clutching at his swollen belly. This child was going to be the death of him. He could feel it. 

"STARK!" he roared, knowing that if the human's ears didn't here him, JARVIS would.

Tony sipped his coffee leisurely as he worked in front of his computer and JARVIS urgently spoke up. It was the first time Tony noticed JARVIS"s capacity for actual human emotion. "Sir, sir! We have an emergency on the roof... I think you should come right away."

On any other day, Tony would have ignored him and let someone else go to the roof. But it was the fear in JARVIS's voice that forced him to rush up. Once he got to the roof and found Loki, obscenely pregnant and obviously in labor, he dropped his mug and it broke into many pieces on the ground as he stared in awe.

"I'm going to kill you," Loki growled as soon as he saw his lover run onto the roof. "You did this!" he yelled just before he put his head down and curled into himself as another contraction hit him hard.

Tony was shell shocked and was only able to stare in shock. He barely noticed when Hank ran up onto the roof, having heard the commotion. He was quickly followed by the rest of the team. All of them stopped dead in their tracks. "Oh... shit," Hank gasped.

"Oh, good, and audience," Loki snarled sarcastically through clenched teeth, his eyes watering with tears of pain.

That spurred Bruce into action. He looked at the others who were just staring in shock and sighed as he ran to Loki's side. He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "How far apart are the contractions and how long have you been in labor?" he asked calmly, reaching out to help Loki to stand despite the god snarling at him.

"I don't know. I've been in pain for about sixteen hours now," Loki gasped. He allowed Bruce to help him stand when he realized Bruce was probably his best chance he had at surviving this.

"We have to get him to the medical lab... Tony, help me move him," Bruce ordered his friend, hoping to snap him out of his shock.

Tony almost fell over. "I... I... I don't think that's a good idea," he stuttered nervously. "Why-... why should I do it?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. He had suspected there was something between Loki and Tony but he had never said anything. He was a private man himself and wouldn't want anyone to interfere with his sex life so he stayed out of others... even if his friend was screwing the enemy.

"Because you are the closest," Bruce said sarcastically at the same time that Loki growled. 

"Get over here, Stark!" Loki barked.

Tony did not want to make Bruce angry so he ran over to them, but continued to stand awkwardly. "What- what do you want me to do?" he asked a little frantically.

"Just help me get him downstairs," Bruce said calmly as he forced one of Loki's arms over his shoulders. Loki made a hurt noise but allowed it.

I can do this, Tony told himself. He helped hold Loki as he walked back into the mansion. "Shhh, you're gonna be okay," he tried, though no confidence showed through in his shaking voice.

"This thing is trying to claw its way out of me," Loki cried through gritted teeth.

It seemed to take ages, but when they finally made it to the medical lab they helped Loki onto the exam table and Tony took a breath for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. "You've done this before," Bruce stated. "Were you able to give birth or..." Bruce said unsure how to explain a C-section to a Norse God.

"You are going to have to cut him out of me… he's not coming out any other way. I can tell," Loki answered breathlessly, trying to get comfortable on the steel table before another contraction hit and he let out an anguished scream that made Tony jump. Something was wrong.

Tony took a few steps away from Loki. "Alright, well I'm going to give you something for the pain, Loki," Bruce warned him while he rummaged through the cabinet.

"No, don't… I don't know... I don't know what human drugs will do," Loki panted hard and grabbed at Tony's shirt to pull him back to his side. "Don't you dare leave me to birth your demon spawn alone!" he threatened.

Tony had no intention of leaving, but he hoped Loki wasn't being literal when he told him it was a demon spawn. "You don't... really mean that," he tried. "You have to take the drugs, Loki, you will be fine," he tried to sound stern.

"Fuck you... I'm not taking anything." Loki growled. "It could hurt the baby."

Tony could tell Bruce was panicked, but he was holding it together far better than he was. "Loki, I'm going to have to cut you open to take out the baby... you need to let me," the doctor told him calmly.

That was when Tony leaned over him to glare into his eyes. "Don't be a martyr, Loki. If you don't take them, I'm going to hold you down so Bruce here could give you an injection against your will," he demanded, and Bruce opened his mouth to protest, but Tony gave him a look that silenced him.

"I'd like to see you try," Loki growled as his hands clutched at his stomach painfully. "Just cut it out!"

Tony, able to finally think clearly now, grabbed the needle from Bruce's hand and quickly stabbed Loki in the thigh, injecting it as quickly as possible. He panted heavily as if he just ran a marathon, or maybe it was just a panic attack.

"Wait! Tony! That's enough to..." Bruce began, but when it was too late, he sighed, "... take down a horse."

Loki yelled. "I'm going to break every bone in your body!" he began to threaten just as his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped back, his fingers loosening his hold on Tony's shirt. He was unconscious.

Bruce quickly pushed Tony out of the way to check for Loki's pulse. It was faint...too faint. He grabbed a surgical kit and ripped it open to grab a sterile scalpel and gloves. He turned on the bright light and Tony winced under it. "We have to get the baby out," he said to Tony, not voicing his concern for Loki just yet. He needed Tony to focus.

Tony did not look away from Loki's face. "What do you mean, we? You're the doctor here!"

"Loki's metabolism is way higher than ours. He may wake up in the middle of this. If he does, you will have to hold him down," Bruce warned. He started the incision as he was speaking.

"Fine. That's fine," Tony told him anxiously, looking down at Bruce as he worked. He had never been squeamish around blood, having practically performed surgery on himself before. "Well go on, then. Uh... have you uh... done this before?"

"Once. I'm going to assume it's the same as performing it on a woman," Bruce said, making the incision quickly before reaching in. "It defiantly not the same..." he nodded, finding organs in strange places. Finally, he found the amniotic sac and cut it open. He pulled the baby out as quickly as he could. "Get a towel," he ordered.

At first, Tony was so stunned by the sight of his only son that he did not hear Bruce.

"Tony! Now!" Bruce brought him back to reality and he ran to go retrieve a towel, shoving it at Bruce.

Bruce whipped the baby off and checked him over. He wasn't crying but was breathing when Bruce cut the umbilical cord and Loki began to stir. "Here, take him. I have to stick Loki back up before he wakes…" he said, handing the baby to Tony and not giving him a chance to protest.

Thank god he didn't drop him. The baby immediately began crying and Tony panicked even more. "Shh, shhhh," he tried to soothe him, rocking him as gently as he could. He looked small. "Is he okay? Is the baby okay? Bruce!" he panicked.

"Besides coming out of a mostly male Norse god, he seems fine. I'll check him over more when I am sure Loki isn't going to bleed out and die!" Bruce hurried, snapping a little at the end. His fingers worked quickly.

That shut Tony up as he held the baby with a desperate grip and gazed down in shock at his son. "It's okay, kid, it's okay," he soothed. Loki’s eyes fluttered open just as Bruce finished the last stitch. 

"Where is he?" Loki asked the doctor blearily. Bruce was the first one to come into focus.

"He's right here, Loki, Tony has him. He looks healthy. A boy," Bruce told him. Tony didn't even hear them talking as he gently rocked his weeping child and stared in awe down on his reddened face. The baby had finally stopped sobbing and was cooing in weak protest from exhaustion. He had a small amount of hair, black hair.

"I want to hold him," Loki said weakly, but Bruce ignored him as he placed gauze on the wound. "Give him to me!" he suddenly shouted.

Tony continued to rock the child. "Calm down, Loki, you are under a very powerful sedative. You cannot even lift your arms. You just have to relax and regain your strength," Bruce tried to soothe him.

Loki tried to breathe heavily through his nose and he stared at the ceiling to consider his position. He was weak and his magic had been spent on sustaining the child. He was helpless right now. "Anthony... can I see him, please?" he tried, his tone softer. He hoped to catch his lover’s attention that way.

That did catch Tony's attention and he walked over to Loki's side with the baby still cradled in his arms. Loki forced himself to reach out and touch the baby's head, his arm shaking with effort. "He's human," he mused. His voice sounded amazed and sad at the same time.

"Human?" Tony asked shakily, heaving a sigh of relief when he realized Loki really hadn't been serious about the demon spawn.

"Yes, human," Loki said thoughtfully. "What will you call him?"

"Me?" Tony asked, shocked. He did not want to name this child. "He's your child.”

"No, he's your child," Loki said firmly.

"Alright, he's our child," Tony shot back at him impatiently.

"No. No one can know- you will just have to say you got one of your women pregnant."

That was when Tony began to realize what Loki was saying and gave Bruce a warning look. "Can I have a moment here with my baby's father?" he asked.

Bruce nodded, but before he left, he leaned over Loki and said, "You are going to need to take it easy for a few days." Loki said nothing in response and the doctor left them both in the lab by themselves.

Tony glared down at his lover who was covered in sweat and only half conscious. "What do you mean no one can know? Loki, you need to relax and sleep and stop saying stupid things.”

"Odin can't know he's mine or he will take him away from both of us and what do you think will happen when SHIELD finds out you have a possible demi god as a son?" Loki asked him.

"You think I give a shit? Loki, they don't care! You think you can just show up on my roof, pop out a baby, and leave it?" Tony shouted, and just then, the baby cried out in hysterics again.

"Quiet!" Loki hushed Tony. "Odin has taken every child I've ever had away from me. This one would be no different."

"I can't talk to you right now. If you say one more thing, so help me god, I will fucking kill you where you lay right now," he snarled as the baby cried.

"You might as well. This could be your only chance," Loki said with a cruel smirk.

"I hate you," Tony growled, holding back his urge to murder him.

"I know you do... it's probably for the best. Just never take it out on him," Loki told Tony seriously and he felt his exhaustion weighing down on him.

Tony clenched his teeth. "You're taking this parasite with you. I'm not raising him."

"Yes you are. And you are going to do a better job than your father did. If I could take him, don't you think I would? There are too many people in the universe that want to see me dead."

Tony rocked the baby too hard to try and silence him. "How do I know you didn't fuck someone else and say it was my kid?" he cursed, and it was unfair and he knew it.

"You don't," Loki sighed, rolling his eyes before he forced his body to cooperate and sit up to take the screaming baby out of Tony's arms. The baby quieted in an instant and Loki gazed down on what they had created. It was always a wonderful feeling seeing what one has brought into the world. "You are beautiful," he told the baby softly.

Tony's vacant arms shook as he watched Loki holding their newborn. He quickly wiped a tear from his eye before he thought Loki could notice. "I want you out of here when you can walk. And you're taking him. If you leave him here, I will put him up for adoption," he threatened.

Loki frowned as he looked away from his baby and up at Tony. "If I were staying, you would have wanted him, You said so yourself. You can't run away from this responsibility. He's your son."

"That's exactly what you are doing, you fucking asshole. You are the only one running away from the responsibility of your own son," he shot back at him. "I bet you're doing this for your own selfish reason. I bet you never wanted to raise any of your children.”

Loki forced himself to breath deeply and not attempt to punch Tony while he had a now sleeping baby in his arms. "That is probably the harshest thing you have ever said to me and you have said a lot of horrible things," he said, keeping his voice soft. "You have no idea what I would have given up to be with any of my children, what I have already given up. Leaving him with you is the most selfless thing I could do."

"Where the fuck have you been, anyway? Where have you been that you can just show up here whenever you want, not to see me, but to abandon your son with no proof that it's even mine?"

"I'm not arguing with you right now. I know you are looking for a fight but I am too exhausted to deal with you right now." Loki kept his eyes on his sleeping son.

Tony heaved a heavy sigh and put his face in his hands.

Loki reached out to squeeze Tony's arm before he let unconsciousness take him under into a deep, dreamless sleep. Tony slipped the baby from Loki's arms and he protested weakly. Tony opened the door to find Bruce waiting outside of it. "We need to take him to the hospital. He needs his... shots, or whatever a newborn needs..." he told him, but he had no intention of leaving Loki.

"I'll take him, but they will want a name and it will leave a paper trail," Bruce warned.

"Say we found him, then," Tony shrugged. He was terrified of taking the baby from Loki, afraid that Loki would disappear if he did and leave him with it, but he was also terrified of not giving his newborn son the medical treatment he needed. "Or better yet, go hire some discrete doctors.”

Bruce took the baby gently from Tony's arms. "Tony... just be careful. Loki's crazy enough without being hurt and having post pregnancy hormones rushing through his body."

Tony was on the verge of breaking down. "I can't leave him, otherwise he will wake up and take off and leave me with this thing."

Bruce nodded in understanding. "Just remember that sometimes good things do come out of bad situations."

"Oh come on, I don't want to hear this right now! Please go call some discrete doctors and bring some equipment to the mansion..." Tony huffed.

"Okay, okay," Bruce held up his hands. "I'll take care of everything."

"Fine. And go get the handcuffs... uh... out of my... bedside drawer. It won't stop him from turning into a cloud of smoke, but it might help," he ordered.

"Why do you...never mind. I'll get them but you know it won't do any good."

"And bring blankets! And some sort of... bed!" Tony shouted after him, which caught the interest of Natasha. Tony almost dropped his newborn son when he realized she was there.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at Tony and crossed her arms over her chest. She had missed Loki's appearance as she had just got back from a mission from Fury. She pulled out a set of handcuffs and handed them to Tony. "I hear I missed Loki's big return," she said eying the baby and Tony’s ragged appearance. "What's going on?"

Tony tried to offer the baby to Natasha. "He just showed up and popped out a baby. Well, Bruce cut it out of him. Not sure why," he tried to shrug it off.

Natasha frowned and took the baby hesitantly and only because Tony looked like he was about to collapse. "Fury will want to know about this."

Tony did almost collapse. The baby immediately stopped protesting while nestled in Natasha's arms. "Sure, whatever, it's not my fault," he shrugged again, not aware of how suspicious he was behaving.

"Sure," Natasha said with no emotion in her voice. "Go handcuff him and see what Fury wants to do. I should probably call in Thor from New Mexico."

Tony leaned heavily against the wall and buried his face in his hands. "Listen, I just think we should not jump the gun. This really isn't any of our business," he tried.

"Loki broke his deal with SHIELD when he pulled his disappearing act. They will want to hold him accountable for his actions."

Tony did not let on how panicked that made him feel. "Oh, come on, cut him a break. He needed a safe place to have the kid. He is a prisoner himself, remember?"

Natasha gave Tony a look and walked away, leaving him to deal with Loki. She might wait a bit before she made the call to their boss. Tony ran after her when he saw her leave with his son. "Hey, where are you... where are you taking him?" he asked a little protectively.

"I'm just going to find somewhere for him to sleep. Calm down Tony." Natasha told him. “I won’t do anything to harm your son.”

Tony cleared his throat but did not try to argue. It was better that she knew, anyway. "Alright well... be careful," Tony reminded her dis-trustingly, following her with his eyes.

"I'll bring him right back," Natasha said over her shoulder, just as a groan from Loki filtered through the room. Tony was by his side in an instant. 

He glared down at him. He was still angry. Still hurt. And still very much in shock. "You awake? We can give you something more for the pain, Loki. Don't be a hero."

"Where's the baby?" Loki asked worriedly when he realized his son was no longer in his arms. He tried to sit up but Tony held out a hand to stop him. 

"Hey, hey... relax, or I'll drug you again," he threatened. "He's fine. You passed out and Natasha took him to find a bed."

"You left our son with a woman who has killed people for money?" Loki asked incredulously but he was too tired to fight.

"You don't care," Tony accused. "And she's a hell of a lot better with him than I will ever be. And you are the one that tried to take over the human race... don't give me that she's killed people for money shit."

Loki put his arm over his eyes to block his sight. "I don't want you here right now. Go away," he spoke through gritted teeth. He wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, not argue with Tony over pointless things.

"Why? Because this is all my fault? You could have told me. You could have warned me. I wouldn't have let you... go through it alone," Tony tried.

"You don't even believe he is yours. You really think you would have helped me?" Loki asked disbelievingly.

"If you had stayed rather than left, I would have helped you…"

"Yeah, you would have helped me get rid of it," Loki said angrily.

Those words hurt more than he would ever let on. "Oh, please, Loki. Who do you think I am?" he growled. "It would have been your choice. Besides, you were the one pestering me since day one to not use a condom.”

"I know," Loki admitted. "I honestly didn't think this would happen. I've never heard of a Jotun and a human breeding before." And yet it wasn't like he had done much research of his race. He didn’t even know if he was a full Jotun. He had no idea who his other birth parent was. The Jotun had conquered many worlds during the wars.

"I guess I must be the only one crazy enough. You planning on staying on that table?" Tony asked rudely.

"No... I need help sitting up," Loki admitted, though it killed him to admit his weakness.

Tony ignored him completely. "What are you going to name him?”

Loki moved to sit up on his own. "I don't know. You sired him, you name him."

Tony felt tears stinging his eyes and he quickly looked away in embarrassment. "I told you, you are not leaving me with a kid. That isn't an option."

Loki swung his feet over the side of the table and grabbed Tony, pulling him closer to him between his knees. He kissed Tony gently on the lips to see what his reaction would be.

Tony pulled away. He would have been a lot rougher if Loki had not just given birth. "Don't complicate things! You always complicate things!" he shouted, and turned away from him before he could feel those betraying tears sting his eyes. "I'm leaving you here to rest. You need anything, ask Natasha or Bruce."

"Don't leave me in here," Loki panicked. "Why can't you take me to your room?"

Tony stopped right in front of the door. "I thought you were leaving."

"I’ve… I’ve changed my mind."

The entire room seemed to pause as neither of them spoke for a long moment. 

"Just like that? Loki, you told me you had no choice. You're a lying, scheming demon and I want nothing to do with you and your baby!" Tony shouted.

"I will stay with you as long as I can. I promise you this," Loki tried to explain through his own tears. "Come here," he requested quietly, holding out his hands. If he could, he would get up and comfort his lover but he didn't think his legs would hold him. "Please, Anthony, come here."

Tony did not turn around, though he turned his head slightly. "Why?”

"Because I want to hold you."

Tony clenched his fists hard. How dare Loki come back into his life like this and just expect him to take him back? He was far too overwhelmed to deal with any of this. "I need space," he mumbled.

"You have had months of space," Loki pointed out.

"Yes, because you took off for no reason. And now you are a known enemy and have the SHIELD looking for you,” Tony argued.

"I had no choice in leaving you. I am sorry for doing so."

Tony thought this was just the stress and drugs making him say these things. "Oh, but you have a choice now? I don't buy it."

"Fine, then. Leave me here on this horrible table in this horrible lab like some kind of experiment after I just gave birth to your son!" Loki finally snapped.

Tony hesitated before he walked out of the room. "Someone will come move you to what used to be your room," was all he said before he left.

***

Dr. Banner came down later to help move Loki into his old bedroom. Loki was suspiciously quiet and well behaved as he helped him into bed. He seemed to come back to himself when Bruce handed the baby to him.

"Everything checked out fine. He's a perfectly normal baby boy," he told Loki, but Loki said nothing, just staring down at the infant.

"Um, we bought some formula... I didn't know if you could, you know, produce milk," Bruce said awkwardly.

"We will be fine, thank you, Banner," Loki dismissed, still not looking at him. Bruce took that as a sign to get out while he still could. He closed the door quietly behind him.

***

It was late that night, after he was sure Loki and the baby were asleep, that Tony crept into his room. He was unable to sleep and unable to stop thinking. He wanted to see the baby’s face again. He wanted to reassure himself that he was alive and healthy. As quietly as he could, Tony walked silently over to the bed and looked down at the sleeping baby in Loki's arms.

Loki woke up as soon as he felt someone else in the room but he did not open his eyes. Tony continued to silently watch over them until he finally reached out and touched his son's forehead. Loki opened his eyes and watched. 

"Come up with a name yet?" he asked softly.

Tony almost jumped and pulled his hand back immediately. "No. Look at what I named my robots. I can't name this kid."

Loki, with the help of JARVIS, had Googled Tony when he first started to show interest in the other man and he remembered Tony's mother had died in the same crash that took his father and that Collins was her maiden name. "What about Collin?"

Tony looked down at his son stoically. He thought of his mother. "Why Collin?"

"It's a good name," was all Loki said.

Tony hesitated for a moment before replying, "Okay. At least he won't be picked on in school for it."

Loki smiled when Tony agreed. "Collin Stark... sounds a lot better than Collin Lokison."

Tony sighed deeply and crossed his arms over his chest. "He's beautiful," he admitted. "And... quiet."

"He looks like you. Lay down with us."

Tony hesitated but finally slid into the bed as gently as possible and lay on his side next to Loki and Collin. "He looks nothing like me. He's short and bald and fat," he teased lightly.

"You shut your mouth," Loki smirked as his fingers ran over his son's fuzzy black hair. "He has hair... don't you listen to your father," he whispered to the baby.

Tony inched closer until his body aligned with Loki. "Not much hair. You sure he's human? He won't start throwing firebombs?"

Loki shook his head a little sadly. "I used up too much magic just keeping him alive. I don't think there is any way I could have passed any along to him."

Tony said nothing to that and reached out to examine his baby's wiggling hands. "Are you still in pain?" he whispered.

"My healing is kicking in. I should be fine in a few days. I'm not sure when my magic will be restored. It seems to take longer to come back after each child I have."

Tony snorted at that. "You'll make the Duggar family jealous," he teased.

Loki frowned, knowing he probably did not want to know what Tony was referring too. "I don't think I can have any more children," he confessed. This time had felt different, he felt different.

Tony frowned at that. He knew this birth was hard on Loki and he could not help but feel guilty. "Getting old?" he teased.

"That must be it. Once you grow older than a millennium, things start to break down," he said with a sad smile.

Tony smiled. "Oh, come on. Just because your having a moment of brief humanity doesn't mean you're still not a bad ass demi-god," he shrugged, trying to lighten his mood. He wanted desperately to ask him the questions that hung in the air, but he did not want to ruin this moment he had with him, especially if it would be the last time.

"I think I'm allowed a moment of humanity since I just gave birth to a human."

Tony looked down at his child who was sleeping a bit fitfully. "That's what I'm saying. You're allowed. Doesn't mean you are any less amazing."

Loki smiled. "Tony Stark admitting I am amazing and all it took was me giving birth to his son."

Tony laughed and ran his finger over a crease in Collin's forehead, and instantly, the baby woke and began to cry softly. "He doesn't like me," he frowned.

Loki rolled his eyes. "He's a baby. He doesn't dislike anyone." Loki patted the baby until he settled down.

"He likes you better," he observed with a hint of jealousy.

"You haven't had much experience with babies have you?" Loki asked him thoughtfully.

"Of course I haven't," Tony mumbled.

"Here, hold him again," Loki offered.

Tony gave Loki an unsure look before he sat up slightly to cradled Collin in his arms just as the baby began to throw another fit. "He's... he's crying again," he turned to Loki desperately.

"He will calm... just rock him a bit," Loki suggested.

Tony forced his body to release tension and gently rock him the same way he had seen Loki rock him. "Shhh," he tried to soothe him.

"See, you can do it," Loki said as Collin calmed. He leaned over to kiss the baby's head before kissing Tony just as gently.

"No, you're better at it," Tony insisted, trying to suppress his anxiety. The kiss did calm him.

"You're a natural," Loki assured him.

"No, I fucking suck," Tony growled impatiently, but panicked when he realized he just cursed in front of his son. "Oh sh- I mean... better hope he doesn't understand me yet."

"I'm sure he will learn some interesting words from you in the future but right now you need not worry."

Tony gently rocked his son who finally began to calm and close his eyes in exhaustion. The baby had Loki's black hair, fair features, and sharp eyes.

Loki leaned against Tony. "I will stay with you as long as I possibly can."

Tony freed one arm to gingerly wrap it around his exhausted and surprisingly peaceful lover. He wasn't sure what that meant. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. But he would take what he could get. "Just because of the kid?" he asked tentatively.

"Partially. I should have come back to you after I took care of Hela," he admitted.

Tony gave Loki a surprised look. He had been free all this time, and he was free now. And right now, nothing else mattered. Tony had questions, but they could wait. Loki had time to answer them when he could. So Tony kept his mouth shut.

"I think I might love you," he told his son, though he wasn't necessarily saying it to him.

"I think he might love you as well," Loki told him softly.

"Yeah?" Tony asked hopefully with a smirk playing on his lips.

"Yes, you crazy human," Loki said with an honest smile.

Tony turned into Loki then, and still holding their child, he leaned in for a sincere kiss. Loki raised his hand to cup Tony's cheek and kissed him back.


End file.
